Distance
by Angelsong87
Summary: The untold story of Mulder and Scully that goes behind the screen and into the deeper picture. The New Years kiss sparked so many emotions, how will our intrepid heroes move forward now that the walls have come down?
1. Chapter 1

Jan 1 2000 12:01 AM

She had just saved his life again, god he didn't deserve her, this perfect specimen of human kindness. He loved her so much, more than words or actions could possibly say. And he knew that she loved him to, but not the way he wanted her to. How could she? He was a broken man and everybody knew it. For months no one even paid him any mind out at the bars and clubs. Even Diana hadn't wanted him… not really, to be fair he hadn't really wanted her either. But he needed to know if he could actually feel something for someone. This existence with Scully had become too much to bare, always so close but still so far. All Diana had done was shine a light on how much he wanted Scully, and sometimes….. It was like she wanted him too. She was certainly not shy at showing her jealousy for Diana, but maybe that was nothing more than Scully seeing him in a bad situation and wanting to help. It was obvious that she cared, even to others. That Padgett guy had told him that Scully was already in love, could it be true?

As he watched her standing next to him eyes peering up at the television hanging on the wall, he could feel the heat and electricity of having her so close to him. The countdown was over and as his eyes turned to the picture in front of him, happy couples kissing like there was nothing else in the world left to do. He turned back to Scully and before even consciously deciding to do so, he was leaning in.

Scully felt rather than saw Mulder lean towards her, and before she could stop herself she turned to face him a slight smile playing on her lips. He kissed her sweetly and Scully felt her eyes close enjoying how soft his lips were and the smell of his aftershave. It wasn't a long kiss and as they broke apart they stared into each other's eyes. Mulder smiled hopefully at Scully and she returned an encouraging smile. He shrugged slightly and joked. "The world didn't end."

"No it didn't." She replied as the smile fell away from her face. His face dropped as she broke their eye contact. "Happy New Year Scully." He said and she laughed to herself. "Happy New Year Mulder." He reached out his hand and placed it on her shoulders as they walked out of the hospital.

They didn't say a word to each other their minds were far too busy racing, and they both tried to make sense of the kiss. For a moment Scully had been truly happy, but as they walked through the corridors towards the parking lot a realisation dawned on her. _"The world didn't end."_ He had joked to her. It kept playing over and over in her mind. Of course he made a joke, he had meant the kiss to be a joke, it was just something you do on New Year's, she rationalized.

She snuck a glance up at the man that she loved completely. She couldn't remember when she first realised that she loved him. It was such a gradual thing, every day she woke up and loved him more than she did the day before. But he didn't think of her like that. Why would he? She had been a thorn in his side from the moment she had been assigned to work with him. There were times when she had thought to hope that he did care for her, the way he would reach out and touch the small of her back when they were walking, or he would catch her eyes and hold them. The speech in the hallway outside his place, where she was sure he was going to kiss her. But he didn't, and things had gone back to the way they always were. And then there was Diana…. Scully hated how happy she felt when she found out that Diana had been murdered. It made her sick, how horrible a person you have to be to take joy in another person's death. No wonder he didn't love her. She sighed and reached into her purse to find her keys. "Mulder I'm driving you home."

"I'm fine Scully, I can drive" He replied. But as he turned to look at her he thought, better not to argue. "Alright Scully." He said and walked to the passenger side of the car. Scully unlocked the car and they got in.

He felt like the world's biggest fool. In a moment of weakness he had given in to his feelings and now she couldn't even look at him. Why did he have to kiss her? He had ruined everything! Idiot! On Monday he was going to ask Skinner for some time off so that she wouldn't have to look at his sorry face.

She looked at him sitting in the passenger seat of her car, he looked utterly defeated. She couldn't understand his mood, she knew if she just caught his eyes she would be able to figure out why he looked so sad but she dared not look because then he would see how she felt. The kiss hadn't so much damaged, as obliterated her carefully constructed Armor. She knew that everything she was feeling would show up right there on her face if he looked, thankfully he did not.

They sat there in silence for the rest of the drive, each one wrestling with an emotional burden as they tried to rationalise away what the kiss meant to the other. Finally Scully pulled up out front of Mulder's apartment. "Ok Scully I will see you Monday I guess." Mulder said as he exited the car. "Yeah, Bye Mulder." She replied, he walked up to the front door and turned in time to see Scully pulling away from the curb. He shook his head and sighed as he opened the door to the building.

He had just entered his apartment and thrown himself down on the couch when he heard a knocking on his door. He got up and went over to the door to look through the peep hole. He was surprised to see Scully standing on the other side. He opened the door "Scully I-"

"Can I come in?" She asked cutting him off.

"Sure…..yeah." He replied before moving out of the way to let her in.

She looked frightened and nervous, it scared him to see her like this. "Scully are you-"

"I have to ask you something…..it's important." She said.

"Of course, you can ask me anything." He replied taking her hand and leading her over to the couch. "Here sit down."

They sat down together, Scully wouldn't look at him. She sat there in silence for so long that Mulder thought, she might never speak again. Until finally she looked up at him, tears brimming in her eyes and whispered. "Mulder…. Why did you kiss me?"

Mulder sat back, shocked. "Um, I don't know Scully." He said trying to get his thoughts in order, should he tell her the truth? "It was New Year's and that's what you do and- and I wanted to." He finished and saw the look of surprise on her face. "I have wanted to kiss you from the moment I met you. And so I just did it! I'm so sorry." He slumped down and put his face in his hands. This was it, no turning back now, he had truly ruined their friendship.

Scully reached out and took his hands in hers and pulled them from his face. "Don't be" she said quietly. He looked up at her, hope in his eyes. "Don't ever be sorry for kissing me." She said and held his face caressing his cheek. He met her gaze and finally he saw it, all the love that she was offering him was right there in her eyes. She leaned in and kissed him gently. God she smelled so good. He grabbed the back of her head with his good hand and caressed her as he deepened the kiss.


	2. Chapter 2

Jan 1 2000 6:45 AM

Scully awoke to a light dancing across her face. Damn I forgot to close the motel black out curtains, she thought to herself and rolled onto her back. An arm snaked around her midsection causing her to freeze as she remembered the events from last night. She smiled and cuddled in closer to the man in the bed, but it was too late. He had already felt her stiffen and was quickly pulling away from her. She rolled onto her side and opened her eyes to take in the wonderful man that lay beside her.

He looked at her sheepishly, not knowing how she would react to last night's dalliance in the light of the day. "Good morning Scully." He said.

"Hmm morning." She replied in a sleepy voice.

"Do you want me to make you some coffee?" He asked still not sure that she wouldn't run screaming for the door the second he got out of bed.

"Um…. Yeah." She replied somewhat cautiously.

He smiled at her and got out of bed reaching out for the bottom draw of his side table where he kept his pyjamas. He through on a pair of old grey faded sweat pants that he liked to sleep in and headed for the kitchen.

Scully sat up and looked around for her clothes, seeing her panties and slacks lying on the floor at the end of the bed and her bra hanging haphazardly off the dresser. Where is my shirt? She thought to herself before remembering how Mulder had ripped it off out in the lounge room. She sat for a moment wondering how to proceed before she thought, screw it. She reached down to retrieve her underwear and headed over to the dresser. She opened the top draw and pulled out and Oxford tee and threw it on. It was way too big for her, the end of the shirt coming down to her mid-thigh. She shrugged and headed out to the kitchen where she could smell the coffee percolating.

She stood at the end of his kitchen bench with her arms crossed over her chest. "Mmm smells good." she said.

Mulder turned from the other side of the bench where he was busy with the coffee machine and mugs and looked at her. She looked incredible, wearing his old school t-shirt and her hair tousled and slightly curling at the ends. Any remnants of her make up where all but gone and her face looked rosy skinned and fresh. It was amazing but it seem to Mulder that she looked younger without all the paint and creams on her face.

"Wow Scully, you look…. Beautiful." He said and was pleased when he saw her face flush red. That's what he didn't like about make up, it hid all those wonderful emotions.

"Really Mulder." she replied "My hair is a mess and my breath probably smells like death."

He walked over to her and kissed her forehead. "You're perfect." He said with a smile before walking back to pour the coffee. Scully, still red faced headed over to the refrigerator to pull out the milk and hand it to him.

"Thank you." He said

"Welcome." She replied as he poured in the milk and handed her a cup. She stood there for a moment nursing her cup before taking a cautious sip, Mulder liked his coffee piping hot while she preferred hers to cool a little while. She was surprised to find the temperature just to her liking, she couldn't remember ever telling him how she took her coffee.

She sighed thinking about last night.

He froze like a deer in headlights, here it is, and he thought, _Mulder I love you but I'm just not in love with you like that. I think I should get a transfer, I think it would be better if we never saw each other again._ He winced while he waited for the words to come.

"Last night was….. Good." She said cautiously.

"But." He followed thinking, this is it. Here is where my heart breaks.

"But, I don't want to rush into anything. " His heart sank.

"Oh….. Alright Scully." his face dropping.

"Mulder, it's not like that, I just want to take things slow." She smiled encouragingly at him, and took his hand in hers.

"Alright Scully, whatever you need." Mulder replied. On a whim she pulled him in for a hug. As they broke apart she said. "But now I have to go home."

"But Scully," Mulder whined. "It's the weekend"

"Yeah and you need rest, and to put your arm back in your sling." She said gesturing to the lounge room where his sling lay on the floor. "And we both need to finish our reports on the millennium case to present to Skinner on Monday morning." And with that she walked into the lounge room to collect her shirt and coat off the floor and disappeared back into the bedroom to get changed.

Mulder sighed to himself and headed to collect his sling, he would need to change his bandages too as they had slid down his arm somewhat through the night. He was busy fussing with them when Scully walked out of his bedroom now fully dressed.

"Here." She said. "Let me do that." And sat him down on the couch so she could remove his bandage. She studied his wound thoughtfully. "It looks a little inflamed, you need to keep it clean."

He shrugged away from her. "I'll be fine Scully."

She caught his eye and gave him one of her patented no nonsense looks. "Where do you keep the iodine?" she asked.

He sighed, he hated it when she fussed over him. "Bathroom cupboard, under the sink." She walked into the bathroom to collect what she needed. Scully came back with his first aid kit and dropped some iodine on to a wipe, he winced when she touched it to his wound. "You're a baby." she laughed.

"Yeah well, you tell me how you would feel when your primary physician is a pathologist." he retorted.

She just shook her head and continued her work. When she had finished cleaning and dressing his wound she stood up. "Make sure you bring your first aid kit in on Monday so I can dress your wound again, I know you won't do it yourself if I leave it to you."

His only reply was to stick out his tongue at her, which just made her laugh. "Okay, I guess I will see you Monday." She said as she made her way to the door.

He quickly got up to follow her and stood right behind her as she reached the door. "Hey Scully." He said in a low voice.

"Yes." She said and turned to face him.

He reached around to the small of her back and pulled her into a passionate kiss, "See you Monday." He said as they broke apart. Scully just looked up at him before walking out the door and towards the lift.

He closed the door and smiled to himself as he walked back to his room and flopped down on his bed. The pillows still smelled of her shampoo and perfume, a curious blend of apples and vanilla, and sighed. She wanted to make this work, he thought.


	3. Chapter 3

Jan 3 2000 7:00 AM

Scully hadn't stopped smiling the entire weekend and when she awoke on Monday morning, despite being a horrible morning person, she practically leapt out of bed. She took care not to rush through her morning rituals to get to work early, she didn't want Mulder to think she was too eager to see him. She had promised herself that she would take it slow, but to be honest Scully had no idea how to proceed. She knew how she felt about Mulder, but she still had no idea how he felt about her. It was obvious that he shared her attraction, but how much deeper did his feeling for her go?

Scully sighed she was never any good at relationships, she sat at her table waiting for her coffee to cool and thought about her previous partners. There was Marcus, her first boyfriend….. But that was high school. She had gone out with him because her best friend Ellen had liked his best friend Tom. The irony was that while her relationship had lasted mere months, Ellen had gone on to marry Tom. Marcus was kind and attentive, everything a high school boyfriend should be and Scully liked him well enough. But when she looked at him, she just didn't understand what the big deal was. Ellen was always raving on about how love changes everything, and Scully had tried very hard to love Marcus. But after the school year had come to a close she felt no desire to continue dating through collage.

Collage was the first place that she heard the nick name that would follow her for the rest of her adult life, _Ice Queen,_ a very un-fair depiction of Scully in her mind. It wasn't that she didn't have feelings, she had just learned from a very early age that, emotions, were not helpful in life. She didn't have time for a social life. Her family had very high expectations that their daughter would be a qualified doctor in record time, and Scully eager to please had undertaken a double diploma. She had studied neurology, her parents' choice, and pathology, her choice. And at the bright and early age of 24 had started her residency. It was there that she met Daniel. He was her teacher, and her friend. He had never thought of her as an Ice Queen, but rather, as a hard working young lady who was going places. They would work late together almost every night, going through medical journals and discussing treatment plans for all kinds of maladies. She wasn't the least bit surprised when he finally kissed her. She had wanted him to for some time.

Her relationship with Daniel was different for a number of reasons, the least of which was that he was already married. In retrospect Scully thought that maybe that was why she had let herself love him, knowing that she could never really have him. Is that why she let herself love Mulder?

But Daniel was good to her, and she had been happy with the way things were. Every weekend he would be with his family, but on weeknights they were all for each other. The sex had been hot Scully supposed, sneaking around and rushing off for a quickie in the broom closet during rounds. But Daniel had always been her teacher first, and when it was clear that they would never be equals Scully had finally decided to end it.

It was one of the major reasons she had come to Quantico, and turned her back on her family and Daniels expectations. Her father had taken it poorly. It was the first time since she was a child that she had ever seen her father yell at her, it frightened her and she almost thought better of her decision. But then like turning on a light switch her Ahab had clammed up, he told her to do whatever she wanted and had left her. If it wasn't for Melissa's encouragement, Scully didn't know where she would be now.

She hadn't been at Quantico for very long when she had met Jack, another teacher. But he was young and fun and didn't treat Scully like a student. And Scully had been determined to shake the college nick name. She forced herself into uncomfortable situations, making friends had never been easy for her. And the day that Jack had asked her out for dinner, she had answered yes without a second thought. Their relationship had progressed quickly and within a few months they were living together. Life had been good, simple, Scully thought. But Jack had begun to obsess about work, coming home very late and always angry. When Scully had left him she had wondered if he even noticed. It was then that the Ice Queen moniker had come back into fashion. It wasn't that she had purposely meant to close herself off, she just didn't see the point in relationships anymore. That and the fact that she herself was now a teacher at Quantico, she would never be like Daniel and Jack. _She would never date a student._

For the first time ever Scully felt like she might actually be in love, and she had no idea what that meant. She knew that if the shadowy powers that be found out about her and Mulder there would be no stopping them from splitting them up. And Scully couldn't imagine working in another department anymore, she sighed. This was never going to work, she thought and took a large gulp of her coffee. She glanced over to the clock on the wall.

"Shit!"

It was 8:45 she was going to be late.

"Not today!" she moaned and gathered up her things and headed for the door.


	4. Chapter 4

Jan 3 2000 9:00 AM

Mulder was pacing in his office, he had gotten to work at about 7:30 and quickly finished his paperwork. Their meeting with Skinner was scheduled for 10:00. Scully was late. As Mulder paced he went over and over in his mind all the reasons Scully would be running late. She was usually in the office promptly at 8:30 every day and it had only been half an hour, not enough time to call in a missing person's report yet. She could have had a flat tire or gotten caught in traffic. Maybe her alarm didn't go off? Oh god what if she was in an accident? He moved over to the radio and turned it on, listening intently to see if there had been any road accidents this morning.

As he listened the annoying voice of doubt that lived in the back of his mind piped up. _She is avoiding you,_ it said _she doesn't want you._ Mulder pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers trying to block out the voice. What if the voice was right? What if she was late because she was already off asking for a transfer, what if she had only said that she wanted to take things slow because she was trying to let him down easy? What would he do then?

He knew why he started work on the X Files, to find his sister. But somewhere in the last six years he had realised that he prioritised Scully even above his lifelong obsession. He tried to think about when that had happened. When she had been diagnosed with cancer? When she had been abducted? The more he thought about it the more his mind went back to their first case together. He smiled to himself when he remember how she had burst into his room half naked freaking out about a couple of mosquito bites. Any normal person would have asked for a transfer as soon as that case was done. But she had stayed. She had listened to his crazy ravings about his sister, and comforted him.

He thought about her curled up on his bed in her bathrobe, the candlelight dancing across her face. Even back then he was struck by how beautiful she was. It had surprised him at the time, Scully was nothing like his usual type of woman. He like tall leggy brunettes that exuded sex appeal and knew it. Scully was this petite firecracker, who had absolutely no idea how pretty she was. In fact she had always tried to downplay her femininity by wearing oversized suit jackets and ill-fitting skirts or slacks. He had noticed and definitely appreciated when she had started to dress better after her cancer. It was like she had a new lease on life and she let her vitality shine through her clothing choices.

Where his previous partners had all been likeminded and agreeing, Scully had always enjoyed contradicting Mulder, he thought it was equal parts annoying and invigorating. He couldn't imaging not having to work to get his point proven anymore. She made him feel credible, by having to prove his theories he felt less crazy. It was very different to his previous relationships.

Phoebe had relished in making Mulder feel crazy he never knew where he stood with her. He remembered back in Oxford when he had taken her to dinner and asked her to move in with him. She had been so happy he thought everything was perfect, but on the day that they were supposed to move into their place together she had jumped on a plane jetting off to Rome with some friends for three weeks. He had been sure they were over, until the day she showed up at the house with her things and laughed at the stupid look on his face. She put the box she was carrying in his hand and sauntered inside asking what was for dinner. He should have kicked her straight out but she always seemed to have such a hold on him.

It was strange how relieved he was when she left him for that banker's son. He had just continued on with his life. That was the moment he realised he had never loved her. When he had finished his degree and moved back stateside he had eagerly applied to the FBI, knowing that the resources here would help him in his quest. He remembered how excited he was on his first day of class at Quantico, so excited that he didn't notice the leggy brunette that sat down next to him right up until she leaned over her desk and had asked to borrow a pencil. He didn't know when he actually started dating Diana, every day they sat together in class and then had lunch together. He did realise they were dating until someone came up to him one lunch break when Diana was sick and asked him where his girlfriend was. The entire relationship Mulder had felt like he was just being pulled along and through it, Diana had definitely held the reigns. But it was nice and it was easy so Mulder had been quite happy. It was her in fact, who had found the X Files for him. Putting him on the path that now led to Scully. And Diana had been so supportive of Mulder diving head first into the strange and unsolvable, that he had actually gone and purchased a ring to propose with. They had discussed marriage in the past and he knew it was the next logical step. But the day before he had planned to ask her she had come home and told him that she had taken a transfer and would be leaving next week.

Mulder had been shocked. He had no idea that she wasn't happy. But he kissed her goodbye and tried to pick up the pieces she had left in her wake. They had been together for almost five years and it had been strange sleeping alone again. His insomnia had kept him up so often after she left that he had found the only place he could really sleep was on his couch. And when he eventually moved out of their home together he had never even bothered putting his bed together, keeping his bedroom as a type of storage space instead. That was until the strange water bed had appeared in the room last year. The Gunman still denied that they had anything to do with that, but Mulder didn't believe them.

He looked at his watch 9:25 where are you Scully? He thought about Diana showing up in his life again last year, it had been such a confusing time for him. He had told Scully that he loved her and she had rolled her eyes at him. Thinking back he understood that he was very high on the drugs that the hospital had given him it made sense now that she didn't believe him then. But at the time he had taken it as proof that Scully would never feel the same about him. So when Diana had showed up wanting to get back together he had jumped right in. Getting back with Diana had ended up having the opposite reaction to the one he had hoped for, he had hoped that he might finally be able to get Scully out of his mind. But instead everything Diana did, and said he couldn't help comparing to Scully. He knew he should have given up on Diana right away it wasn't fair on her but he couldn't help trying to get Scully out of his head. But in the end Diana had betrayed him, Scully never would.

Just then Scully walked into the office.

"Mulder….. Hi…. Sorry I'm late, I er, get held up at home." she said not meeting his gaze.

"That's fine Scully…. Everything alright?" he asked tentatively.

"Yeah." she replied. "I just need to finalise my case report for Skinner."

They sat there in silence for the next twenty minutes trying hard not to look at each other while Scully printed off and signed her case report. At 9:55 Mulder stood up "Well Scully, I suppose we should head up." He said looking over at her.

She had been staring off in space thinking and when she heard his voice she had jumped. "Oh, right, okay." She replied and gathered up her things.

They walked together to the elevator, there was a noticeable gap between them as they tried to give the other more space. Why hasn't she looked at me? Mulder thought could she really be trying to let him down gently? He sighed and let his head droop down a little lower.

Scully looked over when she heard Mulder sigh, was he regretting Friday night? She thought. Why is he standing so far away? He hasn't even tried to talk to me and normally he is talking my ear off all morning. She looked away sullen, as they entered the lift.

As the elevator moved up the floors from the basement more and more people had gotten on and Mulder and Scully had ended up pushed together at the back. They looked clearly uncomfortable to their proximity to each other, and as the doors opened on Skinners floor they both breathed a sigh of relief when they could escape the small room and put some distance between each other.

Skinner immediately noticed his Agents strange behaviour as he opened the door to his office and saw Mulder and Scully in the waiting room. Scully was sitting at one end of the couch in the room pushed as far against the side and she could squeeze herself. Mulder was standing by the other side of the couch, they both look extremely uncomfortable.

"Agents, come in." He said and stepped out of the doorway to watch Mulder and Scully enter. There was an awkward moment when they both reached the doorway at the same time and flinched away from the other as their shoulders touched. This is very bad Skinner thought to himself. He moved to his desk and sat down while Mulder and Scully sat in the chairs opposite him. They were angled away from each other and looked like they would rather be anywhere but next to each other.

He had witnessed a lot from these two agents he had come to consider friends. Watching them care for each other in hospitals and when one of them had gone missing, they almost appeared like lovers. Listening to them argue over cases they were more like siblings. He had even seen them angry and fighting with each other before, when the X Files had been given to Spender and Fowley. But he had never seen them like this before. They looked like they couldn't stand each other's company. "Have you got those case reports?" He asked hoping that something in the reports would shine a light on their distaste for one another.

"Yes sir." Answered Scully while handing over her report. Mulder wordlessly handed over his and Skinner sat reading their reports taking in the uncomfortable silence that pooled around his Agents.

Unsurprisingly he found nothing in their reports that would explain their behaviour. Of course not, he thought, they never put anything personal in these things.

He sighed, "Are you sure that you want to put in a case report with the word Zombie in it?" He asked trying to break up the silence.

"That's what they were sir." Mulder replied. Skinner looked at Scully but she just looked away, he could see the scratches on her neck as they stood out against her skin. They seemed a little better than they had a couple of days ago.

"Mulder, how is your arm doing?" He asked after reading the discharge report from the hospital included in Mulders report. "The Doctor said you are supposed to wear the sling for the next week is that right?"

Mulder sighed at the prospect of having to wear the sling for the next ten minutes little own seven days. "That's right sir." He agreed.

Skinner sat thoughtfully for a moment before deciding. "Well then I suggest you use up some of your sick days and take the rest of the week off to recover." He said, thinking that a break from each other would do the agents some good.

"But sir….I'm fine-" Mulder started but Skinner cut him off.

"That's an order agent." He said authoritatively.

"Yes sir." Mulder said glumly looking down.

"Alright if that's everything." He waited "you're dismissed." He said gesturing to the door.

Mulder got up and made his way out of the room, Scully hadn't moved from her chair. Mulder turned when he noticed that Scully wasn't following him. "Scully?" He asked.

"You go on Mulder, I won't be long." She said back to him and turned her attention back to Skinner.

Mulder tried to catch her eye to gleam what she was doing, but she kept her head pointed firmly away from him. _She is probably asking for that transfer._ The little voice in his head said. He turned back to the door and walked out feeling resigned to his fate.

When Mulder had closed the door behind him Skinner turned his attention back to Agent Scully, wondering what she wanted to say to him that she wouldn't say in front of Agent Mulder. "What is it Agent Scully?" He asked

"Sir I was just wondering." She paused "with Agent Mulder off on sick leave….. Would it be ok if I took the rest of the week off on holiday leave?" She asked "It's just that, my brother and his wife have just had a new baby and they have been asking me to visit them out in San Diego and there's not much I can do in the office right now without Mulder and…." She trailed off

Skinner sat back in his chair surprised, he didn't know what he was expecting Agent Scully to say but it certainly wasn't that. "Ah," He thought for a moment "That should be fine Agent Scully, just make sure you write up a leave request and leave it with Arlene before you go. I will see you next week I guess, say hello to your brother from me."

"Thank you sir." Scully said and got up to leave "I will." She walked solemnly out of the office stopping to pick up a leave request form from Skinners receptionist and fill it out while she was there. She kept her expression blank as she walked over to the elevator, and after finding herself alone on the way to the basement she finally let herself smile.

She recovered her blank face by the time she had walked into the office and was somewhat amused to see Mulder at his desk look to all the world like he was just reading the newspaper. He would have gotten away with it too if he had only manage to have the paper the right way up. She walked over to her section of the room and picked up her post it notes and a pen.

"So, what was that about Scully?" Mulder asked, trying to keep his voice casual.

"Oh nothing much Mulder," Said Scully while doodling on a post it "I asked Skinner if I could take the rest of the week off seeing as your out of commission, I was thinking I might go and see Bill and Tara for a few days." She ripped of the post it note she was drawing on and walked over and stuck it to Mulders desk. "I'm going to go home and book some flights, I will see you next week Mulder." She said and walked over to the coat rack grabbed her coat and bag and headed out of the room.

Mulder stared after her flabbergasted. After a moment he finally looked down to the post it note she had stuck on the desk. _**My house 7pm?**_ It read, and Mulder smiled to himself.


	5. Chapter 5

Jan 3 2000 4:00 PM

Mulder had left the office not long after Scully that morning after setting his emails on to forward to his home computer. He had gone home full of nervous energy excited to see Scully tonight. She hadn't asked for a transfer so things appeared to be going well, he still didn't know what actually was going on between the two of them but he had finally allowed himself to let a little bit of hope in. he spent the first couple of hours at home checking his house for bugs and wire taps. He checked at least twice a week and never on the same days. When he first started checking he had turned up and alarming amount of listening and recording devices. He even found one tapped to the inside of the cistern in his bathroom. Who on earth would want to listen to him working his bran flakes out of his body? But he hadn't found a device for some time now, he supposed it must be getting quite costly for those shadowy people to have to keep replacing their toys.

When his checks we all done he pottered around cleaning his apartment. And packing away some things he thought he no longer needed. Once his apartment was clean he had gone for a long run and showered and picked out an outfit for tonight. After getting dressed he fed his fish and walked around checking that the windows were all shut and locked. Though he knew there was a chance he was coming back here for the night he could hope right? Once he was sure the apartment was secure he walked over to the front door and picked up a couple boxes he had sitting there and opened his front door and walked out locking it behind him. He made his way out of the building and into the car park, unlocking the trunk of his car he put the boxes in and got in, he sighed hoping that he would miss most of the traffic on his hour long journey to the Lone Gunmen's office.

He stood outside the Gunmen's office precariously balancing his boxes while he tried to push the buzzer. Frohike eventually opened the door "Hey Muldy, what brings you by?" He asked before stepping back to let Mulder enter.

"Hey Hickey." He said and gestured with the boxes in his arms. "Do you mind?" He asked.

"Oh yeah sure." Frohike replied before relieving Mulder of some of his cargo. "What you got there?" He asked curiously

"Just some stuff I don't need anymore, hey listen can I ask you guys a favour?"

"Sure, the guys are in the office." Said Frohike and walked into the office, Mulder followed behind.

"Hey Guys." Mulder said putting his boxes on the table.

"Hey Mulder, find any primo new listening devices we can play with yet?" Asked Langly.

"Sadly no." Replied Mulder "But I do have something to ask you."  
"Sure what is it?" Asked Buyers.

"Well Scully is going out of town tomorrow and-"

"Holy shit Mulder! Is this your entire porn collection?" Asked Langly opening one of the boxes.

"No." Replied Mulder "Just my stuff from home."

"Why are you getting rid of it?" Enquired Frohike "Got a new girly?" he joked.

Mulder went red. "No, it's just getting old and taking up space."

"Wow it sure is getting old!" Exclaimed Langly. "This edition is from the Nixon era." He laughed.

"Well if you don't want it." Said Mulder angrily moving over to gather the box up.

"NO!" Cried Frohike. "I mean, we'll see that it get properly recycled."

"What is it you wanted to ask us?" Enquired Buyers who had stayed silent during the entire porn exchange. The others stop rifling through the boxes to pay attention.

"Well as I was saying." Mulder threw an annoyed look towards Langly and Frohike. "Scully is going out of town tomorrow to visit her brother and I was wondering if you lot could go over to her place and check for bugs."  
"Oh yeah sure Muldy." Frohike replied "What time?"

"I'm not sure yet I will ring you tomorrow before she leaves."

"Any reason in particular you want us to debug her apartment while she is out of town?" Buyer asked.

"Not really, I just know she wouldn't take too kindly to knowing that Hickey had been poking about in her underwear draws and I figured, her place hasn't been check out for a while so it would be good to do on the down low." He replied.

"Yeah" Laughed Langly. "Wouldn't want Agent Scully to know how paranoid you are, she has already shot you once."

Mulder sighed frustrated. "Would you just do it?...Please?"

"Sure thing Muldy." Frohike said kindly. "Just call us when you want us there."

"Thank you." Said Mulder reaching into his pocket he pulled out a set of keys, he thumbed through the different makes before finding one and removing it. "Here this is her door key, it will get you into her building and apartment, DO NOT, copy it." he said handing Frohike the key.

"No problems." Replied Frohike. "Hey did you want to stick around for a while? Langly just Modded the PlayStation graphics card and we were gonna check out the tomb raider game. That chick is Smokin!"

"Another time guys I need to be somewhere." He said and headed for the door.

The Gunmen shared a look, "Mulder is definitely seeing someone." Said Buyers.

"I hope it's Scully" replied Frohike.


	6. Chapter 6

Jan 3 2000 6:45 PM

Mulder had arrived at Scully's earlier than he had expected. The traffic had been surprisingly good for a Monday afternoon, and even after he had stopped in and Scully's local bodega for a couple bottles of wine. He still had fifteen minutes to kill before heading upstairs. He wondered if he should turn up early or wait in his car until seven like Scully had said. He thought back to their morning at work. It had been so unbelievably awkward Mulder was so glad that Skinner had given them the time off, he wondered if this was what work would be like from now on. He hoped not, he was sure he couldn't deal with too many days like that. He would rather Scully just shoot him again he thought, laughing at what Langly had said earlier.

He turned his rear-view mirror around to check his hair and absentmindedly smoothed it. Not that it did any good, his hair had always had a mind of its own. He quickly breathed into his hand checking his breath. Had he cleaned his teeth before heading out he wondered?

He checked his watch 6:50 PM close enough he decided and jumped out of the car. He walked up to the front door and was lucky enough to have one of the other tenants walk out as he got there. He quickly grabbed the door, thankful that he didn't have to use the buzzer. And made his way inside and up the stairs to Scully's third floor apartment. He stood at her front door and smoothed down his shirt. Why was he so nervous? He knocked on the door.

"Just a minute!" He heard her call out. He breathed out slowly and Scully opened the door beaming at him.

She was casually dressed in jeans and a white t shirt and had her hair pushed back with a headband.

"Hi." She said awkwardly.

"Hi." He replied just as awkwardly "I um, brought wine." He said holding up the bottles.

"Thank you." she replied.

They stood in the doorway staring at each other for a moment before she suddenly realised "Oh! Come in." She finally said and stepped back to let him in.

Mulder walked through the door wondering what he was supposed to do. Should he kiss her? But before he could figure out what he wanted to do Scully had reached down to retrieve the bottles and headed to the kitchen. "I ordered Chinese." She called out. "I hope you don't mind."

"No that's fine." He replied following her into the kitchen where she was pulling out wine glasses and a bottle opener. He cautiously put his hands on the bench either side of her hips, she turned to face him and tilted her head up to kiss him. It had started off tentative and sweet, but it quickly deepened. As Scully wrapped her arms around his back he moved his one hand to the small of her back and the other rested in her hair. Their bodies moved closer together so that they were touching from hip to chest. Just as Mulders hand slipped up under the back of her shirt they heard the buzzer ring. They jumped apart like a pair of high school kids whose parents had just walked in on them. Red faced and thoroughly embarrassed Scully looked up at Mulder apologetically and said. "That would be the delivery guy." She moved over to the call box to buzz him into the building, and walked into the lounge where her purse sat on the entry table she waited for the knock on the door. Mulder still stood in the kitchen trying to get his body to calm down. It was amazing how his body reacted to her, even the slightest touch from her could elicit aches and trails of heat all over him. He exhaled deeply and moved to finish uncorking the wine. By the time that he had uncorked and poured the wine Scully had paid the delivery guy and was arranging the food on her coffee table.

He brought over the two glasses and sat down on her couch. "So Scully, what do you want to do tonight?" he asked and heartily enjoyed the look she gave him in response.

"I thought we could eat some food and watch a movie maybe?" she replied.

"Okay." Said Mulder. "What's on?"

"Well I forgot to go to the video store so it will have to be something I already own. Breakfast at Tiffany's?" she asked.

"Sounds perfect." Mulder replied and moved to open the containers of food while Scully got up to put the tape in the player.

They settled down on the couch together and ate as they watched the opening credits roll by.

At some point during the film they had gotten up and removed the remnants of their meal and now all that remained on the coffee table was the two bottles of wine, one empty the other half full and their glasses. Mulder turned to Scully placing his arm over her shoulder.

"You know I have always liked Holly go Lightly." he said softly.

Scully turned to look at him, checking to see if he was being serious. "Mulder you have seen Breakfast at Tiffany's?" she said incredulously.

"Sure." Mulder replied. "I saw it on your shelf once and thought it might be good so I rented it."

"Huh." Scully replied mostly to herself. She never really thought about how much attention Mulder paid, it's not like he had been at her apartment much. She loved how he just seemed to know what was important to her without her saying. "Mulder sometimes you are the sweetest man I have ever known." she said looking at him seriously.

"Why thank you mam I think your pretty swell." He joked in and old movie accent and pretended to tip his hat at her.

She shook her head laughter played in her eyes "Shut up Mulder." she said and pulled him in for a kiss.

As soon as their lips met they felt a spark of heat build between them and intensify. He picked her up and carried her off to the bedroom.


	7. Chapter 7

Authors Notes

Hey there! Glad you are enjoying my story so far, I'm sorry its taking so long between updates. I try to write as often as I can, but with two small children running around trying to monopolize my time it can be difficult. Especially when you add university into the mix. I will try to get the rest out as soon as possible. Keep up the feed back! I love hearing from you, it really brightens my day (and is a fantastic confidence boost)! I received a review that let me know that I could get in trouble for not referencing the non original content in my story. I'm sorry about that, this is my first story and I wasn't sure of the rules.

I do not own anything!

The song in my first chapter is a Christina Perri song, which I love. I feel that it perfectly sums up my version of Mulder and Scully (Who I claim not rights to) and what they are feeling at the time.

Most of the characters belong to Chris Carter.

Any direct lines from episode Millennium belong to CC and Vince Gilligan and Frank Spotniz.

Also any direct lines from episode Rush belong to CC and David Amann.

Thank you.

Jan 4 2000 9:15 AM

Mulder awoke easily, naturally, for a change. After years of insomnia and nightmares he had gotten very used to running on as little as three hours sleep a night. Scully kept her room dark so Mulder had no idea how late it was, he looked over at the alarm clock. 9:16 AM

Wow! He thought, I can't remember the last time I had eight hours of unbroken sleep and it has been more than that. He looked down at the source of his restful slumber, she rested in his arms with her head propped up on his shoulder. He decided he loved watching Scully sleep, she looked so peaceful, and vulnerable, with none of her usual armour in sight. The only thing he missed were her bright blue eyes, they were his favourite feature, and he had never met a more expressive pair of eyes ever in his thirty nine years of life.

He reached down and brushed an errant hair from Scully's cheek and she murmured and rolled away from him. Damn! He cursed internally, suddenly feeling the cold on his side in the wake of her departure. He sighed, and rolled on his side to better see her.

The sheet had slipped down when she rolled over and Mulder could see the soft unmarked flesh of her back, he knew he should let her sleep but he couldn't help reaching out and running his fingers across her warm skin.

Scully woke with a shudder of contentment and stretched before turning to look at him.

"Hi." She said with a sleepy smile.

"Good morning Scully." He replied and reached out to pull her back into his arms.

"So what do you want to do today?" She asked. "We have the whole day to ourselves."

"So you're not flying out to San Diego to visit your brother?" He enquired.

"Bill? God no, do you really think I want to spend a whole week listening to my brother complain about you? Mulder he hates you, besides, I just saw all my family over Christmas."

"Ok Scully," Said Mulder smiling at the thought of Bill Scully whining about him, he wondered how her Christmas had really gone. "Well what would you like to do?"

"Hmm stay in bed all day?" She flirted.

"We could do that." Mulder replied, we could never leave this bed, he thought. And then he remembered that the gunman were coming here today to sweep for bugs. How was he going to get her out of the house for that? "Or" he began cautiously. "You could…. Pack a bag and spend a week's holiday with me?"

"Mulder, we can't." replied Scully.

"Look Scully I know you want to take it slow but, this just feels right to me and I want to make you feel special." Said Mulder cursing his pre coffee brain for allowing his thoughts to slip out aloud.

"No Mulder, it's not that, I mean we can't just go on a holiday together, people would see us."

Of course she was worried about them being seen together, he thought. She wouldn't want to do anything that would jeopardise the x files, she knew how important they were to him.

"Don't worry about it Scully, I will make sure that no one sees us together. I promise, just pack a bag and meet me over at my house in an hour." he said and got out of the bed.

"Mulder." she said warily.

"Just trust me on this Scully, I promise if you don't like it you can go home." He said his eyes pleading with her.

"Alright." She said begrudgingly.

He beamed at her gathered his clothes up and headed to the bathroom. Scully flopped back down on the bed. What did he have planned for her, she wondered. She honestly had no idea, the thing about Mulder was, he always found a way to surprise her.

She used to hate surprises, when she was growing up a surprise was usually being told that they were moving again. Or that the friends she left behind had already forgotten about her. But with Mulder she had learned that a surprise was jumping in with both feet and finding something you never dreamed of. Surprises were birthday keychains and invisible men, and cows flying in the air. Late night phone calls and perfect coffee. She was starting to love Mulder surprises.

Mulder walked back in fully clothed now and leaned over the bed to kiss Scully goodbye. But as he went to kiss her forehead Scully snaked her arms around his waist and pulled him back into the bed with her. She kissed him sweetly.

"Mm Scully, I have to go." He said breaking the kiss. "And you need to pack."

"And for what weather should I be packing for?" She asked trying to get an idea of what Mulder was planning.

"Hmm." he said pretending he was thinking hard. "pack comfortable, but lacy." He said cheekily.

Scully laughed and pushed him off the bed as he sat up. "Should I bring my teddy?" She asked flashing her best come hither look.

"The bear?" Mulder replied feigning confusion. "If you want Scully. I'm happy to share." He teased.

"Shut up Mulder." She said laughing. And with that he turned tail and headed for the door.

"See you soon." He called on his way out. And Scully sighed and walked to her closet to pull out her suitcase.

After she had opened the case and sat it on her bed she walked over to her dresser, wondering what to pack. She didn't have much in the way of lingerie generally preferring comfort over looks. And as she started going through her underwear draw she realised how lucky she had been to be wearing matching bra and panties on New Year's Eve. She shook her head, none of this would do and after quickly throwing some comfy jeans and t shirts into the case she pulled on a skirt and top and headed for the door. She hoped that a quick stop and Victoria's Secret would not make her too late.


	8. Chapter 8

Jan 4 2000 11:24 AM

Mulder hurriedly put his key into the lock to his apartment, he was so late! He practically fell through the door as he opened it, all of the grocery bags tumbling out of his hands. He looked up expecting to see an annoyed Scully sitting on his couch but she wasn't there yet. He breathed a sigh of relief and quickly picked up the mess of bags off the floor. I hope I didn't break the eggs he thought as he kicked the door closed behind himself and headed for the kitchen.

He could not believe how long it had taken at the store to buy the groceries. Granted he did have to go to a few different stores to find the weird bee pollen that Scully liked in her yogurt. But still he couldn't understand why there would be so many people shopping on a Tuesday morning, didn't they have jobs? Thank god Scully was running late too, he thought.

He had just finished putting away the last of the food when he heard the knock on the door. Scully had her own key to his apartment of course but both of them had a habit of knocking first anyway.

He opened the door and smiled at the small redhead who looked as flustered as he had felt moments before. "Hi. Come on in." he said and moved to pick up her suitcase.

Scully followed him back into his apartment and looked around. "So where are we going on our holiday?" she asked curiously.

"We're here." he replied. "I know we can't go away together like that so I decided that I would try and give you the best possible holiday I can right here."

"That's sweet Mulder." Scully said smiling at him, he was so wonderful sometimes Scully thought, although I don't know if I could do a whole week of eating take out for every meal. She had only managed a quick cup of too hot coffee for breakfast and was starving.

As if he read her mind he asked. "Are you hungry? I was about to make lunch."

"Famished." She replied, did he just say make? Mulder can't cook. She thought to herself following him into the kitchen.

"So what do you feel like?" He asked.

Scully surveyed the look of eagerness on her partner's face, perhaps it was a good idea to pick something simple she thought. "I would love a grilled cheese sandwich if you have it?"

Mulder looked slightly disappointed, but happily said "one grilled cheese coming up, why don't you go and sit down. I will bring it out when it's ready."

Scully gave one more concerned look before heading out into the living room. He couldn't possibly burn a grilled cheese sandwich too much could he? She picked up the TV remote and started flicking through the channels. She found some horrid hallmark midday movie drama and settled herself on her side of the couch to watch. Before too long Mulder was walking out with two plates. He put the plates down on the coffee table and sat down beside her.

"What are we watching?" He asked.

"I have no idea." Scully replied. "But it's terrible."

He laughed. "perfect." he said. They sat there in silence watching the bad movie eating a surprisingly good sandwich.

They sat there for a good long while cuddled in together, both feeling perfectly content with the quiet as the credits rolled by. After the movie some afternoon gameshows came on and they took turns shouting out the correct answers at the television. Scully couldn't remember the last time she had felt this relaxed. With Mulder, she was used to always running, driving, flying, just always moving, it felt so wonderful just being still with each other.

The sun had gone down several hours earlier and they both still sat, Mulder with his arm wrapped around Scully and her head resting on his chest, watching the TV when a loud grumbling noise sounded out.

"Was that you or me?" Mulder joked.

"Mm I'm not sure, what time is it?" Scully murmured looking at her watch. "Mulder it's after nine….. We have been sitting here all day!" She exclaimed.

"Well no wonder we are hungry." Mulder replied before pulling himself off the couch and walking to the kitchen, Scully followed behind.

"You sit right here." Said Mulder guiding Scully by the shoulders to the stools at the breakfast bar. "I'll fix us some food."

He walked over to the refrigerator and started pulling out ingredients. Scully looked at the food items he was placing on the bench and asked. "What's for dinner?"

"My world famous Carbonara." Mulder replied pulling out the chopping board and pots.

Scully sat back in the chair content to watch him work, if he burnt it too badly we could always call for Italian she thought to herself but as she watched him cook she noticed something she never thought was possible, Mulder could cook! He looked perfectly comfortable in the kitchen, domesticated even. It was strange, but nice. By the time Mulder was plating up the food Scully was eager to taste the dish.

He set the table in the rarely used dining room that was usually covered in case files and old newspapers. But tonight the table was empty, baring the plates and cutlery and a candlestick, the low lighting coupled with the quiet Elvis Cd Mulder had playing in the kitchen made for a very romantic setting. And Scully sat down in the chair that Mulder had pulled out for her.

"Wine?" he asked.

"Yes please." Scully replied and patiently waited for him to return to the table before trying the dish he had made. "You know, if I didn't know any better I would think you were trying to seduce Me." she joked.

"Well that would depend on if its working." Retorted Mulder sitting back down.

Scully took a bite of the carbonara. "Wow Mulder this is really good! I didn't know that you could cook."

"I'm just full of surprises Scully." He replied seductively.

After dinner Scully insisted on washing up declaring that he was on holidays too and sent him to bed. When she crawled in next to him he was looking up to the celling smiling.

"What are you thinking about?" She asked him

"Just that carbonara was mine and Sam's favourite dish when we were kids." He said smiling.

"Oh… I'm sorry." said Scully she knew that his sister was a touchy subject "I shouldn't have asked."

"No, its fine." Mulder smiled. "it's actually a really good memory, we had this treehouse out in the backyard and I wouldn't let her come up and play with me and my friends so she bribed us with the leftover pasta from the night before." he laughed. "She was about six years old and wasn't allowed to use the stove so we sat there in the middle of the treehouse eating cold gloopy carbonara straight out of the saucepan."

Scully smiled. "That sounds wonderful."

"She was a good kid." He replied, a hint of wist in his voice. "She had no fear either. She was doing back flips off the jetty at the vineyard before I could."

"I never managed the back flip." Scully replied. "I would always get scared mid jump and end up belly flopping in the water."

Mulder laughed. "I would pay good money to see that Scully."

They talked for hours that night, sharing memories from their childhood about their family and friends. Laughing and joking at the descriptions of the terrible haircuts and Star Trek costumes, before finally falling asleep just as the sun was coming up.


	9. Chapter 9

Jan 5 2000 1:40 PM

That afternoon Scully woke to an empty bed. She frowned and sat up looking at the clock. Damn she'd slept the whole day away.

She sighed and got up in search of Mulder, but he was nowhere to be found. She frowned and called out for him. "Mulder?"

No response. Where could he be? She walked into the kitchen and saw a post it note stuck to the fridge. **Went to see the Gunmen, home soon.**

Well, he will be a few hours at least, she thought to herself. She knew that when the boys got together for a debate they could go all day. She opened the fridge feeling peckish and hunted through the well-stocked shelves until she came across her favourite brand of yogurt and the jar of bee pollen she liked to mix it with. She settled down on the couch enjoying the aroma of Mulders aftershave mixed into the leather.

Mulder pulled up at the Gunmen's cramped office building that also served as their home and turned off the car. He hated leaving Scully at home during their vacation and she had looked so peaceful asleep in his bed. But he needed to get the results of the debug from the Gunmen and let's face it, he couldn't exactly bring Scully with him, considering he never told her what they were doing in the first place. He knew she would be furious at him if she ever found out, but he was doing it for her own safety, so it was worth the risk.

He rang the buzzer and turned his face up to stare into the security camera by the front door and waited for one of the boys to let him in. before too long he heard the sounds of the many locks as they tumbled apart to let him in. not for the first time he thought if there was ever a zombie apocalypse this is where he would take Scully to ride it out. The Gunmen were professional preppers.

"Hey man." Said Langly as he opened the door. "What's happening?"

"Langly." Replied Mulder stepping into the building and making his way to the cramped office.

"Oh Hey Muldy, we debugged Scully's apartment last night." Said Frohike looking up from his computer as Mulder entered.

"Was there much there?" Enquired Mulder, he expected Scully's apartment to be pretty clean of bugs, seeing as his place was bug free and they hardly ever spent any time over at her house.

"We could have called pest control the infestation was that big." Said Frohike matter of factly.

Mulder froze mid step. "Shit." He said quietly to himself. "What did you find?" He asked the Gunmen.

"It was beautiful!" Exclaimed Langly. "Some real state of the art stuff."

"I'm going to have some real fun playing with this gear." Agreed Frohike.

Buyers, upon seeing Mulders face fall, quickly set about filling him in on what they found. "There were the general bugs that we are used to seeing in almost every room. As well as a high quality tap on the phone, Agent Scully probably wouldn't have even noticed it. But the most interesting find was in the main bedroom. We found a tiny camera drilled into the wall, it was hard wired in to fibre optic cables with redundant relay systems in place."

"What does that mean?" asked Mulder, he had sat down in a chair during Buyers explanation and was now nursing his head in his hands.

"It means that even if the power to the whole building was cut, this thing would still record. It was muchos fresca."

Mulder looked up at Frohike. "Way cool." He translated. Mulder shook his head as if trying to clear it.

"Did you remove it?" he asked exasperated.

"Sure did, that apartment is clean as a whistle. But I would recommend weekly sweeps now to be sure they don't try again." Said Frohike.

Mulder nodded feeling defeated, surely the Smoking Man and his friends knew everything now, and by the time he got back to work on Monday. He didn't want to think about Monday.

"It was weird though, I mean we have seen countless bugs at your place Mulder but these were from a whole different league. It's not even the same technology!" Said Langly excited for the chance to study something new.

"So it's possible that my clandestine friends had nothing to do with it?" Asked Mulder hopefully.

"It's entirely possible." Agreed Buyers.

"But that then opens a whole new can of worms," Frohike countered "If it wasn't them, then who was watching Agent Scully's apartment?"

An interesting question Mulder thought, I guess we will find out on Monday. "Thanks guys, I gotta go." Was all he said and with a nod of his head he was gone. Leaving the Gunmen to theorise what all this was about.

When Mulder arrived home he called out for Scully. "Hey Scully you home?"

"Yeah I'm in the bathroom." Scully called in reply.

Mulder walked over to the bathroom and tapped on the door. "Can I come in?" he asked tentatively

"Sure."

Mulder walked in and saw Scully in the tub, a glass of wine resting on the floor next to her. She was reading a book and her hair was tied up at the top of her head with a scrunchie. He could smell apples and vanilla in the air. He didn't think he would ever be able to smell those scents again without thinking of her.

"Hey, how are the boys?" Scully asked turning her head towards him. He walked over to the tub disappointed that the entire surface of the water was covered in bubbles.

"They're good, they just had some stuff they wanted to go through with me, covert transmissions and junk." He smoothly lied. "Hey Scully?"

"Yes Mulder?"

"How would you feel if we got the Gunmen to sweep our places for bugs once a week for a while?" he asked.

"I don't know Mulder, I guess maybe if I was there when they did the sweeps it would be ok. Why do you want to do that all of a sudden?"

"Well, I guess…. Now that we are spending more time together outside of work….. Um….. I think it would be good to be more careful." He knew he had to get her to agree but he didn't want to tell her about how much surveillance had been at her house. He knew it would only scare her.

"Let me think about it, ok?" Scully replied stretching her neck.

"Does your neck hurt?" Mulder asked concern in his voice.

"Yeah, I think I may have slept on it funny." Said Scully working at the muscles with her wet hands.

"Here let me." Said Mulder sitting at the edge of the tub behind her.

Wordlessly she handed her body lotion to him and he looked at the bottle. Vanilla Milk Moisturising Lotion, the label read. So that's where the vanilla scent comes from he thought, pouring some of the lotion onto his hands. He started at her shoulders pushing up towards the base of her neck, running his thumbs up her slender neck. Scully murmured in appreciation as he worked. When her neck had loosened he moved on to her back. Slowly relaxing all the muscles of her upper back, when he reached the waterline he stopped and Scully sighed in complaint. He leaned forward and whispered in her ear.

"You know I could do a much better job of this if you were lying in the bed."

Scully turned and kissed him. "Hand me a towel then." She replied seductively.

Mulder quickly jumped up and obliged.


	10. Chapter 10

Jan 8 2000 1:15 PM

Scully was trying to leave Mulders apartment, she had been trying to leave all day. But they both seemed to find endless excuses and reasons for her to stay. She was currently standing by the front door, her bags packed on the floor next to her. Mulders arms surrounding her waist and hers snaked around his neck.

"Mulder, I have to go." She said sadly.

"I know Scully, but its only Saturday. We aren't due back at work till Monday. Are you sure you don't want to stay for one more night?" he said, slowly rubbing up and down her back.

"We talked about this Mulder." Said Scully with a sigh. "This has been a wonderful holiday, but it's time to go back to reality. We can't act like this at work."

She didn't want to go back to work, she wanted to live in this moment for the rest of time. But rationally she knew they couldn't sustain this, Mulder hadn't even made it a full week without needing to go off and investigate something. She thought, even if it was just with the Lone Gunmen. No, this was for the best. They needed a day apart to get ready for the professional appearances they needed to show at work.

"Ok Scully." He said looking down into her eyes. He knew she was right of course, but that didn't mean he wanted to let go of her. They stood there staring into each other's eyes like it was going to be the last time they ever would.

They still hadn't had the _'relationship'_ talk yet, Mulder wondered if they ever would. It didn't really matter to him either way, he knew how he felt about Scully. And after their home holiday the thought he knew how she felt too. But even so, he had been careful not to throw out the dreaded L word just yet. He still wasn't one hundred percent sure that Scully wouldn't go screaming off in the other direction if he did. Or worse, roll her eyes at him like last time.

Finally he let her go, and as she picked up her bags and headed for the door she threw one last look at the man she called her partner. "See you Monday." Was all she could manage before fleeing his sight. Still not sure that she wouldn't turn around and run back to him.

You are being silly! She chided herself. You promised yourself that you would take it slow. There is no point rushing into something that can never work, she reminded herself throwing her bags into her car. She sighed to herself and prepared for the twenty minute journey back to her place, she would need to buy some food on the way home.

Mulder stepped inside his apartment and stopped to catch his breath, before removing his sweat soaked sweatshirt and tee. He had decided to go for a run about ten minutes after Scully had left, hoping that the exercise would work off some of his restless energy. The moment he was alone he had found his apartment to be too quiet, too still. It made him uneasy. But he was home again now and still felt a little edgy so he went about busying himself. After a shower he walked around trying to tidy up but Scully, being the clean freak that she was hadn't left him with much mess to contend with.

He walked over to his computer and booted it up. After connecting it to the internet he checked his emails. There was an interesting email from one of his friends at the bureau. It was a case report from a local P.D in Virginia, one of their deputies had his face smashed in with a police issue flashlight in the woods last night and the suspected murderer was a sixteen year old boy.

What made it so interesting was that the coroner had concluded that the victim had only been hit the one time. He clicked on the picture file and waited for it to open.

Wow! He thought, that's a lot of damage for one blow. What's that shiny thing at the back of the head? He leaned forward in his chair to get a closer look. Is that his glasses? In the back of his head!

Mulder stood up and headed for his coat, he wanted to look into this further.


	11. Chapter 11

Jan 10 2000 8:25 AM

As Scully entered the Federal Building she felt butterflies dancing in her stomach. She was excited to see Mulder again. She self-consciously smoothed down her hair as she waited to go through security.

"Morning Agent Scully." Said the security guard as she handed over her standard issue revolver and keys to walk through the metal detector.

"Hi Frank, how's the family? Amy feeling any better?" She asked.

"Yeah, much better thanks. Oh and thanks for recommending that calamine lotion, she wanted me to tell you thanks for making the itches go away." He replied with a smile.

"Well the Chicken Pox can be tough when you're four. But I'm sure any daughter of yours is tough enough to get through them. See you later Frank."

"Bye Agent Scully!" he called after her.

She always liked Frank, he was always kind to her and never gave her the looks most of the other staff and the Bureau did. Like she and Mulder were freaks, and they were sleeping together. She let out a small laugh as she thought about that, she guessed they were right about that now. She looked around the elevator to see if anyone had noticed her outburst and sure enough, the three other people in the lift were looking at her like she was crazy. She quickly changed her posture and facial expression to one of professional indifference. And hit the basement floor button.

Scully was surprised when she walked to the door of the office that she and Mulder shared. It was closed and locked. Mulder was always here before she was, unless he was on a case. And he couldn't be on a case already, they only just got back to work today. She unlocked the door and flick on the lights on her way in. The office looked the same as usual, although Mulder definitely hadn't been in this morning, there were no discarded coffee cups sitting on the desk yet. She looked around the office despondently, it felt colder and emptier without Mulder in it. Just then the phone rang.

"Hello." She said picking up the handset.

"Hey Scully it's me." She heard a voice say.

"Mulder…. You're late." She responded with a smile.

"Actually I'm in Virginia, Pittsfield to be exact." He said.

"You're in Pittsfield? Why?" she enquired.

"We have a case."

"In Pittsfield….."

"Yeah. Hey listen I'm faxing you over the case report now, and I have booked you on the nine thirty flight over to Roanoke, it's about an hour's drive from there. It's only going to be a day trip so don't worry about packing anything."

"Mulder when did you find this case? You only got back to work today." She said warily.

"I had some stuff to do in the office over the weekend and it came to my attention. You're going to have to get moving if you don't want to miss your flight Scully. I will see you soon ok." He said before hanging up.

Scully stood for a moment dumbfounded still holding the receiver in her hand. How could he have found a case already? I only left him on Saturday. She shook her head smiling. Only Mulder, she thought, replacing the phone and walking over to the fax machine. After placing the faxed case report into a folder she headed to the door, hoping she would have time to read it on her flight.

As it turned out she had ample time to read the case report on her way to Pittsfield, there had been some sort of minor car accident on the road between there and Roanoke and traffic was moving at a snail's pace. Scully sighed and tapped out the rhythm to a song playing on the radio on the steering wheel of her rental car. She was ten minutes out from the hospital Mulder had told her to meet him at when she called him an hour and a half ago to let him know she had made her flight.

Finally she made it to St Jude's Memorial Hospital and pulled in to a carpark. Grabbing the case report, she headed for reception to ask where the morgue was. She got on the lift headed for the third floor.

Mulder was waiting near the doors, he had just pulled out his phone again for the fortieth time. Scully should have been here forty five minutes ago and he was starting to worry. He punched in her number and was about to hit call when he felt a tap on his shoulder.

"Oh" He said turning around. He was relieved to see Scully smiling up at him. "There you are." He said smiling back at her. "Was there heavy traffic?"

"Slow going." She replied as they started to walk towards the morgue. "Let's just say I had ample time to read the police report that you faxed me."

"Thoughtfully provided by the local authorities, even though it doesn't begin to tell the whole story."

"Sherriff's deputy is slain during a routine patrol." She said quoting the case file. "It's a tragic occurrence, but I don't see the mystery here Mulder."

"Except that the deputy was beaten to death by an invisible assailant." He countered.

"Yes, But that's according to the young man who is accused of his murder."

"One Tony Reed, and I'm guessing wrongfully accused. He's an A student moved here a few months ago from Philadelphia." Said Mulder pushing open the door to the morgue. "He's never been in trouble in his life."

Scully looked at the cocky look on her partners face, and walked inside. "Mulder, Tell me that you've got more than SAT scores to show that this Tony Reed didn't commit this crime." She said picking up a pair of rubber gloves and snapping them on.

"Maybe." He replied coyly "Take a look at the body."

Scully was starting to think that coming out here was a waste of time, maybe Mulder just didn't want to be couped up in the office with her, she thought. It was one thing at his house. But now they were back at work she didn't know what to think. She opened her mouth to tell him that this was a waste of time, but decided to look at the body anyway. She knew that if she did say something he would just pester her until she did what he wanted anyway, so why fight it? The sooner she looked over the deputy the sooner she was on a plane ride back to Washington.

She turned on the overhead light and threw back the sheet. What the hell? His entire face was concaved in. there were no discernible facial features left, just a bloodied mass of tissue and bone. She turned to look at her partner.

"The former Deputy Ronald Foster." Confirmed Mulder. "As you can see, the report doesn't quite do it justice."

Scully looked back at the body, horrified at the amount of damage this man had sustained. "Oh my god! It looks like he was hit with a sledgehammer." She said leaning in to get a closer look.

"Police flashlight." Said Mulder and Scully turned to look at him in surprise. "One blow." he finished looking back at her.

Come on Scully thought to herself, really? That can't be right. She turned back to the body to survey the damage herself. After examining the wound she sighed. "Well the damage to the maxilla and facial bones is consistent with a blunt force trauma. But," she paused trying to think of how a sixteen year old kid could have done this in one blow. "I'd say that tony eats his Wheaties." she concluded looking up at her partner.

He just looked back cocky expression still in place. "Check out the back of his head."

Scully bent down to look at the back of the Deputy's head. There was an exit hole consistent with the pressure release from the blow, and something else…. Something metal. Are those?

"Oh." She scoffed. "His eyeglasses."

"Penetrated to the back of his skull. Babe Ruth couldn't hit that hard, little own a high school sophomore." He said.

"Well maybe if he was under the influence of PCP or some kind of stimulant." Scully argued.

"No, his tox screen came back negative."

"Well even so," Scully thought hard to scientifically explain what had happened. "I mean stress and fear may have triggered an adrenaline response. Which is known to enable feats of super human strength."

Mulder thought she was so cute when she tried to explain the unexplainable in scientific terms and he let a small smile play over his lips. He was just about to come back with a witty response, or tell her how cute she was, when a voice called out from behind him.

"Agent Mulder? How long are you planning on being down here?" The man drawled. He was wearing a sheriff's uniform and looked very uncomfortable with having Mulder and Scully there.

"Ah Sheriff Harden this is my partner, Agent Scully." Said Mulder and Scully nodded to the man.

"How long are you planning on being down here?" he repeated "I'd like Ron left in peace. I don't know what there is to see anyway, we got the kid who did it."

Scully instantly disliked the Sheriff, small town mind and small town attitude she thought. "Sheriff we don't mean to second guess you, we're just hoping to be of some assistance." She said looking at Mulder for support.

"Well," Replied the Sheriff. "I don't need it. I got the murder weapon, with bloody finger prints and once the state crime lab matches that up with Tony Reed its open and shut."

Mulder and Scully nodded, it was clear they would not be getting any support from local law enforcement in this town.

"Well, Ah, Were done here." Said Mulder looking to Scully to confirm. She nodded at him. "But Sheriff Harden you won't mind if I talk to Tony Reed do you? I mean it won't hurt your case and, if he did do it. You'll want to know why."

Sheriff Harden sighed. "Fine, you can follow me over to the police station." He said and walked out.

Mulder and Scully exchanged a glance before following the sheriff out of the building.

They jumped into Mulders rental car and drove up to the intersection where the sheriff was waiting.

"Well, they sure breed 'em friendly in Pittsfield." Joked Mulder.

"Mulder, that man clearly doesn't want our help. And if Tony's finger prints match then maybe he did do it."

"Yeah but I'm betting they won't. It couldn't be that simple."

"You see conspiracies in everything don't you?" Asked Scully turning to smile at him.

"That's because they're usually there." He said seriously.

Scully just shook her head and laughed at him.

The Sheriff's station was only a couple of minutes away from the hospital, and as Mulder pulled into a park Sheriff Harden walked over to the car. "We have him in one of our interview rooms, and he has denied his rights to a lawyer." He drawled at them.

"Is there a social worker in the room with him?" Scully asked.

"No." replied the Sheriff.

"Sir with all due respect, Tony is a minor, you should never have questioned him without a legal guardian or a social worker present." She said, she was beginning to get to the end of her tether with this Sheriff.

"He's not saying nothing anyway." Was the only reply she got.

She shook her head and opened her mouth to reprimand Sheriff Harden but Mulder placed his hand on the small of her back and pushed her forward. "It's alright Scully." He murmured softly in her ear.

Scully sighed but followed the Sheriff into the station.

As they were heading towards the interview room a small blonde woman brushed past them turning to take Mulder in. Mulder looked back. She looked about sixteen, maybe seventeen, he thought. One of Tony's friends? He would have to check that out. He must have been staring at the girl, because he felt a pinch at his elbow and turned back to see Scully looking at him. A tiny hint of jealousy could be seen behind her eyes.

"What?" He laughed. Didn't she know by now he only had eyes for her? He sauntered into the room feeling rather pleased that he could elicit a response like that from Scully.

"Well Tony," He started. "This must be your lucky day for visitors. This is Agent Scully with the FBI." He said gesturing to his partner.

"I'm not talking anymore. Okay?" Said Tony as they sat down.

He was sitting at the desk, he looked tired, but he wasn't cuffed. Scully saw thankfully. She tried to keep her voice kind. "Well, that might make things worse. They seem pretty bad already." Tony just looked down at the desk. "In your statement," Scully continued. "You say that Deputy Foster stopped you, but you don't say why." She opened the case file to the statement and pushed it across the desk to Tony.

He looked up at them like he was going to say something, but then just sighed and looked back down. "Come on, you were cruising, right?" said Mulder, trying to relate to the boy. "I mean, a small town like this, you're not exactly _livin la vida loca._ "

Scully glanced over to her partner, he was so bad at this she thought. It was cute.

"I know, I grew up in Dullsville, too. You know nothing to do but drive and park."

"How long ago was that?" Asked Tony with a smirk on his face. Scully tried not to laugh.

"Look," Began Tony. "Don't you think I know what you're doing? You're like the tenth cop who's come in here trying to relate to me till I confess."

"If you didn't do it, it's all the more reason to clear it up." Said Scully.

But Tony just sat forward in his chair and said. "Everything I know is in my statement." Staring up at her.

"Okay, but bear with us because were old and stupid." Shot Mulder annoyed that this kid was being rude to Scully. "How long was it between the time you heard the scream, to the time that you found Deputy Foster?"

Tony sat back in his chair and looked at the desk again, Scully thought he looked scared. "Tony, you're not likely to get a fairer hearing than this." She told him seriously.

Tony sighed, defeated. "Maybe ten… Fifteen seconds."

"Okay, but you didn't see anyone near the patrol car?" Mulder asked "you didn't hear anything? And you're still going to stick with your story that you were the only ones there. Is that right?"

"Ah," Tony reached up and wiped his eye. He looked to be debating whether or not to tell them the truth.

Scully leaned in her eyes intent on the boy. "I want to go back to my cell." Is all he said.

Mulder sighed, "Okay Tony." He got up and he and Scully left the room.

They walked a short distance away and then Scully turned to face Mulder.

"Sixteen years old and his life is over unless he starts telling the truth." She said sighing.

"If you really think he's guilty, Scully why don't you ask yourself this: Why wouldn't he make up a more plausible cover story? Why didn't he say that, uh, a pickup full of hillbillies drove by and clobbered the deputy and ran away?" he joked, trying to relax his best friend.

"I'm not saying he's guilty, Mulder. I'm inclined to agree that Tony Reed did not commit murder, but I think that he saw the person who did, and he may be covering up for him."

"I'm not sure there was a person _to_ see." Mulder interjected "I think there was a force at work here."

"What kind of force?" Asked Scully already knowing where this was going.

"I don't know. Some kind of territorial or spiritual entity maybe. Poltergeists have long been associated with violent acts like this. And they tend to manifest around young people. They seem to be drawn to the turmoil of adolescence."

Scully had listened to this speech, or ones like it, thousands of times before. And she wasn't prepared to go down the rabbit hole with Mulder this time.

Suddenly she had an idea. "Mulder." She said and reached out to play with his tie. "Rather than spirits, can we at least, start with Tony's friends?" She looked into his eyes. "Please? Just… For me?" she could see that she had him. I will have to remember to pull this trick out more often she thought to herself. "I think there's one person in particular I'd like to talk to."

Mulder gave her a look, of course she meant the girl she thought he had been giving eyes too. But he wasn't going to give her the upper hand by explaining what he had been thinking when he had seen the girl. He knew what she had just done, and he was going to make sure that she paid of it later. He though wickedly.

"Well then it's lucky that she came in here, we can just check the visitors log and get her name." he said.

They walked up to the reception desk, Scully smiled at the receptionist. "Hi we would like to see the visitors log for Tony Reed please." She said sweetly.

"Sure thing." Said the girl, her name tag read Kirsty. She reached over to the filing cabinet and grabbed a folder that was sitting on top. "Here you go."

"Thanks." Replied Scully and looked at the list. It was short, just his mother and one other name. Chastity Raines. "Can you pull up your records on this person?" Scully asked the receptionist pointing at Chastity's name.

"You bet." Replied Kirsty and began typing on her computer. "Chastity Raines, sixteen, she just got her learners permit six months ago. Want me to give you her address?"

"No that won't be necessary." Replied Mulder. "Tell me what street is the local high school on?"

Scully looked up at him following his thinking, she checked the time. It was 2:28 PM. Just enough time to get down to the school and catch Tony's friend before school let out.

Mulder wrote down the address and thanked the receptionist. As they turned to leave Mulder rested his hand in the small of Scully's back. She smiled, it felt good having him touch her. As they walked out to the car park she had to fight the urge to snake her arm around his waist.

They got in the car and after consulting the map, headed down to Adams High School. It looked like any other mid-western high school, and Scully had seen a lot of them. Same big front building with steps, and the schools name printed over the entry way. Same locker filled hallways and numbered classrooms. Same administration office with glass walls and cheap blinds hanging, looking dirty and dishevelled. You wouldn't have been able to tell looking at Scully, how ridged she was. But she had moved around a lot growing up, she guessed that's just the way it was when you were a navy brat. But every time they moved her mother would tell her it was the last time, and every time Scully had believed her. By the time she had reached her senior year Scully had attended fifteen different high schools across the country and one in Japan. That probably had a lot to do with why she was so reserved and stand offish, it's hard to make friends and build relationships when you don't know if you were shipping out next month. Thankfully for Scully by the time she hit her junior year her parents had settled in Annapolis. It was there that she made her first real friend, had her first boyfriend, and had a date to prom. She sighed looking around. So many memories.

"You alright Scully?" Mulder asked concern on his face.

"What? Oh, yeah I'm fine Mulder, I was just thinking about how all these schools look the same." She replied.

"Yeah but not all schools have haunted teenagers running around in them." Replied Mulder with a smile.

She smiled back at him. "And neither does this one."

"Okay Scully, if you say so." He said and turned to the receptionist that had walked over to the desk in the office. "Hi there, Agents Mulder and Scully." He flashed his badge "could you tell us where we might find Chastity Raines?"

"Is she in any trouble?" Asked the receptionist clearly concerned with having the FBI at her School.

Scully flashed her a smile. "No mam, we were just hoping to talk to her."

"Is this about Tony Reed?" she asked.

"What do you know about Tony?" Asked Mulder.

"People are saying he killed a cop, I remember when he first came in here a few months ago. He didn't look like a killer to me, he was a nice kid."

"That's what we are trying to look into." Replied Scully. "Can you tell us where we can find Chastity?"

"Oh sure thing, just give me a second." Said the receptionist typing away at her computer. "She has Science with Mr Babbitt, that's in room 403 just head out the door and make a left it's about half way up on the right. But you might want to hurry, classes are over in a couple of minutes."

"Thank you." said Scully and she and Mulder turned and headed out in the direction the receptionist had given.

They reached the classroom just as the bell rang, so they waited outside for the girl to appear.

"Chastity Raines." called Scully as Mulder put his arm out to stop the girl. "I'm Agent Scully." Scully held out her badge. "This is Agent Mulder, we're with the FBI."

"Yeah I remember you." Said Chastity once again looking Mulder up and down before turning away and walking a short distance to her locker.

They moved to follow her. "Chastity, what did you and Tony talk about this morning?" Asked Mulder.

"He didn't kill that cop." Said Chastity, a look of disgust washed across her face.

"How can you be so sure?" Asked Mulder.

"Tony just doesn't have it in him." She replied stopping at her locker.

"Do you?" Asked Scully staring at the young girl.

Chastity looked at the Agents and the severe looks on their faces. She turned back to her locker, clearly that question didn't warrant a response. So Mulder followed. "Were you there when it happened?"

The girl reached in her locker to grab out her letter jacket. "Look, I gotta go." She said closing her locker and sliding the jacket on.

"Do you realize that Tony could go to prison for the rest of his life for this?" Asked Scully.

Chastity paused thinking about her friend. "Chastity, if you know something, now is the time to mention it." Pushed Mulder, but as he finished a tall young man with the beginnings of facial hair walked up behind Chastity. Mulder looked down at the notebook the young man was carrying. It had the name MAX HARDEN drawn on it in graffiti style, Must be the Sheriffs son thought Mulder.

Young Harden spoke up. "Unless they got a warrant," He said to Chastity. "You don't have to say nothing." He looked into Mulders eyes, daring him to start something.

"Wow, you must be her lawyer." He joked.

"Let's go." Said Max to Chastity.

But Mulder wasn't finished yet, he still had once card to play with the angry young man, "Gee, butting into our investigation. I wonder what your father, the Sheriff, would think."

Max looked away, startled. "How do you know who my dad is?" He asked.

Mulder let out a smile, he had won that battle of wills. He gestured at the notebook. "You got the same last name."

Max looked down at his notebook, "Oh your good, were done here." He put his arm around Chastity. "Come on babe." As they walked past the two Agents Max slowed and looked Scully up and down. "You must have been a betty back in the day." He said to her and walked off.

Mulder and Scully turned to watch the pair leave, "A Betty?" asked Scully.

"Back in the day." Replied Mulder.

Just then Scully's cell phone rang, she answered it "Scully."

"Agent Scully." Replied an anxious voice. "The murder weapon. I don't know how but, I can't understand. It was locked up tight."

"What about the murder weapon?" Scully asked.

"It's gone! It's not possible,"

"Okay, don't touch anything we will be right there." Said Scully hanging up the phone. Mulder was looking at her with concern. "They lost the murder weapon." She said to him.

"Yeah I got that, let's go." Said Mulder grabbing Scully's arm lightly and leading her back to the schools entrance. "Thing in this case are getting more and more spooky huh Scully." He said letting an excited smile cross his face.

She looked at him, wary that he was getting too worked up. They still needed to catch the nine o'clock flight home, and she didn't have a change of clothes. She hoped he wouldn't want to spend the night in this sleepy town. "Let's just wait and see what we turn up at the station." She admonished.

Mulder looked down at her no nonsense expression. "Awe Scully, your no fun." He teased, but she looked annoyed rather than charmed at him. He looked down confused as to why she would be angry. Suddenly he realised, they had skipped lunch, no wonder she was annoyed, he made note of the local diners as they drove past on their way to the Sheriff's Station. He would take Scully to lunch as soon as they were done.

They pulled into the station and were surprised to find Sheriff Harden waiting for them in the parking lot. They only had time to open the car doors before he started speaking to them.

"It was locked up in an evidence locker, cameras on it and everything." He began but Mulder held up a hand.

"Show us."

Together they walked into the station and around to the back rooms, the Sheriff unlocked a cage door that led into a room filled with lockers. He walked over to one of the lockers which was wide open. "All I know is, we put the flashlight in here, and now it's gone. It's like it just disappeared into thin air."

Scully looked around the room and asked, "How many people have access to this evidence room?" Mulder had crouched down and was looking at something on the floor.

"Only me and the dozen deputies under my command." Said Sheriff Harden.

Scully nodded up at the security camera in the corner of the room. It pointed directly at the locker and was likely to have caught who ever stole the weapon on film. "What does the tape show?" She asked.

"That no unauthorized persons came in, and no one went anywhere near this locker." Said the Sheriff.

Mulder had peeled some black gloopy substance off of the floor and was smelling it. It smelt like plastic he thought, looking at it thoughtfully. "Was this here before?" He asked holding the streak of plastic out so that the Sheriff and Scully could see.

"I don't know," Replied the Sheriff.

"Can we take a look at the surveillance tape?" Asked Scully. She wasn't worried about whatever Mulder was playing with, she knew that nothing disappears without a trace. The camera must have seen something. The sheriff nodded and led them out of the room and across the hall to the surveillance room. There was a small TV set up in one corner of the room. The tape in question was already paused on the screen. Scully sat down on the single chair and Mulder came to stand behind her. The Sheriff walked around to the other side and grabbed the remote.

He hit the play button and Mulder and Scully watched two deputies lock the flashlight into the locker. "You can see that the flashlight was properly secured." He said fast forwarding the tape. "It's not like we're running some kind of half-assed operation here."

"No one is saying that you are, Sheriff." Scully said comfortingly.

"Here's when the state police showed up to take it to the crime lab." Said the Sheriff, pressing play on the tape. "There's me, going to get it." He pointed at the screen. "We open up the locker, and its gone." He finished perplexed.

"I Maybe, uh, didn't give y'all the warmest welcome, but if you have any ideas…" He trailed off.

Mulder nodded to the man and reached out for the remote, "May I?" he asked.

"I watched it a dozen times." Said the Sheriff handing over the remote. Mulder started playing with the tape.

"Could there be a malfunction with the VCR?" Asked Scully, still certain that there would be some kind of evidence of tampering.

"I don't see how." Responded the Sheriff. "Plus theirs no gap in the time code." He gave a long sigh. "The murder weapon was the only hard evidence we had. Without it, we got no case. You know what I gotta do now? I got to call Ron Fosters widow and tell her that I gotta turn his killer loose." He nodded at the Agents and walked away to make his phone call.

Mulder, who had been studying the screen suddenly paused the image. "Scully, check this out." He said pressing the play button.

Scully looked at the TV, the room looked quiet, one deputy was sitting at a desk in the top left of the screen, doing paperwork. She squinted. "What am I supposed to be seeing?" She asked.

"Oh, here it comes." Replied Mulder.

They watched the screen together and all of a sudden there was a blur that came across the image. Mulder hit the pause button. "Now, you see it. One more frame." He clicked the remote and the blur disappeared. "Now you don't. What do you make of that Scully? He rewound the tape. "Take another look. Now it's here, now it's not. What do you think it is?"

Scully frowned, it was a blur! She couldn't even begin to imagine what it could be. "Let's see if we can get a copy of the tape. Maybe we can get it analysed back at Quantico?" she asked. She was tired and hungry and couldn't think anymore.

Mulder nodded and went to ask the deputy who had been waiting at the back of the room if they could get a copy. Then he pulled out his phone and made a call to his friend.

"Hey Chuck, I have something you might be interested in."

"Hey Mulder, what's that?" Mulder's friend asked.

"I'm working on a case down in Virginia, and I have some security tape that looks like maybe it has a spectral image on it."

"Sounds interesting, what do you think it is?"

"I'm thinking maybe a poltergeist, but I'm not sure. If I drop in into your in tray tonight do you think you could have a look at it for me? It will be late, probably after eleven." He said pacing around the hallway.

"Yeah that's fine, I was planning on coming in early tomorrow anyway. How bout I meet you in your office at around 8:30 tomorrow morning, I would have had a couple of hours to play with it by then."

"Sounds good, see you then Chuck." Said Mulder and hung up the phone.

He walked back into the room to find Scully waiting for him. "I don't know about you Scully, but I could eat a horse. Want to check out the diner up the street?" he asked.

"Yes please." Scully responded looking forward to what she hoped was good coffee and warm food.

The coffee was terrible, but at five o'clock in the afternoon Scully wasn't surprised. It had probably been brewing all day. At least the food was good she thought and looked across the booth at her partner. He had ordered the all-day breakfast buffet and was currently chowing down on his sausage and eggs with vigour. She couldn't understand where he put all that food. He was naturally quite lean and Scully now knew from personal experience, that he had very little fat on his body. Her face reddened a shade thinking about his body.

She had chosen the chicken salad, it was okay she supposed. Quite good as far as salads go, but she couldn't help eyeing of the bacon that sat on her partner's plate.

"How's the salad." Asked Mulder watching her stare wistfully at his bacon rashes. He never understood why she ate like a bird, she was so tiny. And she definitely didn't need to watch her weight. Mulder wished she would live a little sometimes.

"It's good." She replied non-committedly, Mulder had a drop of Barbeque sauce on the side of his face. Scully laughed as she moved her hand to wipe it off. She froze as she saw his eye widen and realised what that must have looked like to the other people in the diner. She pulled her hand back and dropped it into her lap, looking down at her plate.

They sat there in silence for the rest of the meal and when they had finished Mulder picked up the check making sure to tuck the receipt into his coat pocket, it would go into their expenditures report when they got home. He and Scully headed back to the hospital where Scully had left her rental car that morning and she got into her car and followed him out as he set off on there one hour journey to Roanoke airport.

Thank god traffic was better than this morning Scully thought and looked at her watch. 5:45. She sighed, even if they got there in record time she still had a good three hour wait before their flight left. She wondered what Mulder was thinking as she stared at the tail lights of his rental car in front of her. She shouldn't have touched his face like that at the diner. It was so stupid, just thoughtless, and careless. She reprimanded herself. She knew that she and Mulder could never be a couple anywhere but behind closed doors. And even then….. Was that what they were? How had they managed to spend an entire week in each other's company, her effectively living with him for that week and not have had the conversation about what they were to each other? She knew that Mulder was her best friend, and her partner, but boyfriend? That word seemed strange and simplistic, lover? She tried, but felt herself shy away from any and all words that denoted love in any form. She still hadn't thought about what she felt for him. It was too hard, complex and confusing. She pushed it away and turned on the radio distracting herself with the popular music station.

Mulder sighed and looked at his rear view mirror. He could see the outline of his partner as she sat in the car behind him. He wished he hadn't reacted like that back in the diner. He had just been so used to always being the one to initiate contact, it had taken him by surprise when she had reached out and touched his face. He had seen the hurt run across her eyes before her walls snapped back into place. He knew she wouldn't try something like that again. He thought back to the way she had casually played with his tie at the Sheriff's station, he hadn't noticed it then, but Scully was finally letting him in. and then he went and ruined it. He slammed his hand on the steering wheel. He knew he needed to go at her pace to make this work. But he never knew whether the next thing out of his mouth was going to make her shut down again. Being with Scully was the hardest and most fulfilling thing that he had ever done in his life.

After they arrived in Roanoke and returned the rental cars. Mulder and Scully set off in search of a decent cup of coffee. They still had hours before their flight back to D.C so they needed a pick me up for the wait. Scully had walked in to a twenty four hour diner and was waiting as the waitress put on a fresh pot for the two. Mulder was waiting outside, he thought it best not to remind Scully of their last diner experience. He looked around the street and saw a used book store across the road with its open sign out and its lights on. He turn to look at Scully through the window, and saw that she was happily chatting to the waitress while she waited for their coffees. She wouldn't miss me for a minute, the thought and crossed the street. He was inundated with the smell as he walked inside. That wonderful musty old book smell, there was nothing in the world like it. He strolled through the shelves looking at the eclectic variety, there didn't seem to be any order to the books and some were stacked on top of each other haphazardly. He had just picked up a copy of Dickens a Tale of Two Cities when he saw an old hard back book poking out on the bottom shelf. He reached down and picked it up, it was Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility, and it was a first edition. He walked over to the counter with his finds.

"How much?" He asked the old man who was sitting by the counter with a book in his hands.

The man gave a token glance at Mulder and the books in his hands, before going back to the book he was reading. "Fifty dollars plus taxes." He said his voice was gruff like he was out of practice speaking. And Mulder reached into his wallet and put the cash down on the counter.

"Thank you." He said to the man, but he didn't look up. Mulder shrugged put the books in his coat pocket and headed outside.

He was half way across the street when Scully came out of the diner, two large Styrofoam cups in her small hands. He jogged over to meet her.

"Mulder." She said with a curious look in her eyes. "Where did you go?"

"Oh I thought that bookshop over there." He said pointing in the direction he had just came from. "Was an _Adult Bookshop_. But alas I was mistaken." He joked.

"Of course you did." Said Scully rolling her eyes.

"Hey, there was a cute little park up the street a bit, did you want to go sit down with our coffees there?" Mulder asked.

Scully couldn't think of anything else to better pass the time so she said yes and they headed off to the park.

It was dark when they got there but the tables were well lit and visible from the street so it looked safe enough. Scully sat down on one of the chairs after checking to make sure it was clear of bird droppings and Mulder sprawled himself out over the table on his back.

"Mulder, people have to eat there." Scully said slightly exasperated. But Mulder just ignored her and rolled onto his side so he was facing her.

"Hey Scully, I… Um… Got you something." He said reaching into his coat pocket. Scully's eyes went wide when he pulled out the books that he had hidden in his coat. He handed her the Jane Austin, "I wasn't sure what you liked but I got a Dickens novel too, I thought it would be a nice way to pass the time."

"Mulder!" Said Scully turning the book over in her hands. "This is a first edition! How did you find it? It must have cost a small fortune." Although Jane Austin was a widely read classic author, to find a good condition copy of a first edition was extremely rare.

"It just called to me I guess." Said Mulder. "Do you like it?" he asked looking deep into her eyes.

She leaned in and kissed him. "I do like it, very much, thank you Mulder." She said with a smile and turned around in her seat to rest her back against the table. She opened the book to a random page and breathed in deeply, she loved the smell of old books. She turned to page one and started reading.

Mulder had been watching Scully as she turned around and he smiled to see her breathing in the pages. I guess she likes the smell of old books as much as me. He thought with a laugh and he rested his head in one of his hands while he held open the book with the other. They stayed like that until it was time to leave for their flight.

After they had disembarked the airplane in D.C and made their way to the front of the terminal, Mulder turned to say goodnight to Scully. He was walking over to the bank of cabs when he heard Scully call out.

"Mulder, you didn't drive?" She asked.

"No, but its ok I have to stop in at work anyway to drop off that tape." He said patting the front pocket of his overnight bag, which held the security tape from the Pittsfield Sheriff's office.

"It's okay, I can drive you." Scully said walking over to him.

"You sure Scully? It's a good twenty minutes out of you way, and I figured you were tired." He said looking into her eyes.

"Yes its fine, after all you did buy me that wonderful book." She replied smiling up at him.

So they walked to her car and drove to the Federal Building, when they pulled up in the parking lot Mulder asked Scully to wait for him. He was just going to run the tape in and be right back.

As she waited Scully had a wicked idea.

When he jumped back in the car ten minutes later Scully said nothing as she made the short trip to her house.

"Ah, Scully I think you might have forgotten I was here." Said Mulder sheepishly, she really must be tired he thought.

"Nope." She replied and flashed him a seductive smile. "You have your overnight bag, you are staying at my place tonight."

"Well, okay Scully." He said a smile forming on his lips.

He could feel the crackle of electricity as they exited the vehicle and walked side by side towards the door of the building. They were so close that they were practically touching, but the slight distance between them made it even more maddening. They quickened their pace as they reached the landing to Scully's floor and within a minute they were inside her apartment. She closed the door and turned to him, still in darkness. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down so she could whisper in his ear.

"I still have to thank you for that book." She said in a breathy whisper. And laughed when Mulder rushed to remove his coat.


	12. Chapter 12

Jan 11 2000 7:00 AM

Both Mulder and Scully awoke to the screeching sounds of Scully's alarm clock and Scully quickly detangled herself from Mulders embrace to switch it off. She flopped back down and reached over for him but he was already sitting up

"Five more minutes!" She whined, and Mulder was instantly transported back to a teenage Scully fighting with her mother about being late for school.

He shook his head smiling and said. "I'll put on the coffee."

As he left the room he stopped to look at the hallway he saw a trail of discarded clothing leading from the bedroom to the front door. He laughed to himself and went about picking them all up.

After putting Scully's clothes in the hamper and slipping on a pair of slacks, the rest of his clothes were shoved unceremoniously into his bag. He headed into the kitchen to start the coffee when he heard the shower going, at least she was up he thought. He grabbed out some bread and made himself some toast, he wasn't sure how long Scully would be in the shower for so he figured it was best not to make her anything yet. He did however pour her coffee into a mug to cool, hopefully it would be just right when she got out.

As he put his plate in the sink he heard her call out. "Showers free!"

"Okay!" he called back, grabbed his bag and headed for the bathroom.

Scully was still in the room when he walked in, she was wrapped in a towel and using another to dry her hair. He walked up to her and kissed her shoulder. "Good morning, I made you a coffee, it's in the kitchen."

"Oh, thank you." She said and turned around to kiss him properly. It scared her how easy it was to get used to having Mulder around all the time.

He placed his bag on the caddie in the bath and took off his slacks and jumped in the shower. She pulled out her hair dryer and started to blow straight the annoying curls her hair seemed determined she should have. By the time she was done Mulder had turned off the shower and she held out a towel for him. He took it and towelled off while she brushed her teeth, then she left the bathroom to go get dressed and he brushed his. He was amazed at how they didn't seem to get in each other's way when going about their morning routines. It had taken him almost years to get to that level of comfortable with Diana, but he and Scully were doing it on the first take.

He had just finished dressing when Scully walked back in coffee in hand and set herself up in front of the mirror. He knew that she probably wouldn't enjoy him watching her while she did her make up. So he asked her if she wanted some toast and left to make her breakfast.

Thanks to Mulder helping with the coffee and breakfast Scully was ready for work extra early today. So when they pulled up at work at 8:00 they decided to grab a coffee and go for a walk before heading in.

It was 8:20 when they finally made it down to the office and Mulders friend was already there, sitting at Mulders desk typing away on his laptop.

"Hey Chuck." Said Mulder walking in and removing his coat.

"Sorry to make you trek over here for what's probably a glitch." Said Scully walking in behind him

"What did you come up with?" Asked Mulder throwing his coat over the back of the chair Chuck had just vacated.

Chuck sighed. "Nothing but eyestrain at first." He said as Mulder patted him on the back and sat down in the chair. Scully had perched herself on the end of the desk. "But then I ran it through my imaging software. I'm here to tell you. It's not a glitch. It's what the camera saw."

Mulder looked up at his partner. "Buckle up Scully, I believe Chuck is about to take us on a ride through the paranormal." He said and smiled at his friend.

"Well, yes and no." Replied Chuck "Initially I was thinking, spectral manifestation. But, uh, with spirit activity you would expect to see light streaks, auras, atmospheric disturbances, translucent figures. Whatever this is… it's not a ghost.

"Especially since ghosts don't go around leaving synthetic polymers in their wake." Agreed Scully.

"That's what the gunk on the floor turned out to be." Explained Mulder, they had received the call from the state crime lab when they were on their walk.

"Ah," Said Chuck. "I dig a mystery with layers."

Mulder looked up at him. "Chuck I get the feeling you don't know what the hell this is."

Chuck sighed. "I cross referenced the shape silhouette against every organic and inorganic object in the Library of Congress database. The closest match was a soviet Akula-class Submarine."

Scully nodded. "I think we can rule that out."

"And then there's this weirdness." Said Chuck tapping on the keys of his laptop. My enhancement brought up this dark edge around the anomaly."

Mulder looked at the image on the computer. "A shadow." He said.

"It would fit with the lighting in the room. The problem is, it can't be throwing a shadow unless…."

"Unless it's a solid object." Finished Mulder.

"Which is impossible," added Scully. "Because it only appears for a single frame."

"One thirtieth of a second." Agreed Chuck. "Now, maybe, uh SCAG can give us a clearer picture."

"Scag?" Asked Scully.

"Spectrographic Colour Attribute Generator. I'm beta testing it for JPL. It's still in the tweaking phase, but the basic idea is I assign know colour values onto the black and white image." He said clicking on objects in the picture. "Then SCAG assigns chromatic values throughout the frame, in effect making an educated guess at what all the colours might be."

He pushed a key and the black and white image turned into a full colour shot and the blur stood out with purple red and yellow. "It still need fine tuning." Apologised Chuck, but Mulder was looking at the colour blur intently. He knew what it was!

"What? Asked Scully looking at Mulder's face.

"You recognise these colours, Scully?" He asked. She looked closely at the image. Of course it was a letter jacket from Adams high school.

They had already made travel arrangements that morning to head back to Pittsfield and were stepping off the 10:30 flight in Roanoke, when they received the call. There had been another supernatural death, this one in front of fifty teenagers as they ate their lunches. Mulder and Scully hurriedly made their way to the rental car place at the airport and hit the road. They got into Pittsfield at around 12:30. The car park to the school was filled with the cars of concerned parents coming to collect their kids.

Scully sighed as the got out of the car and crossed the street. It was no better inside, teenagers were pushed up against all the windows and doors that led to the cafeteria. The kids who had actually witnessed the event were in the music room, the largest room in the building. Scully went by systematically interviewing the kids as they all told her the same story. She wasn't surprised to see Tony, Max and Chastity were amongst the witnesses and purposely ignored them. After the tenth interview telling the same story she decided to catch up with Mulder, who had gone to investigate the scene and asked the teachers to get the names and contact information of the remaining kids in case she needed it.

She walked over to the cafeteria and pushed her way through the crowd of adolescents. "Excuse me." She repeated until she made it through the throngs and into the scene. She walked up to Mulder and he turned to look at her.

"I'll show you my theory if you show me yours." He flirted.

"Based on the eyewitness accounts of the students I spoke to, at this moment I'd have to say that I don't have one." She said staring at the victim in front of her.

The victim, a Mr Babbitt, had been slammed into the wall with such force that it had pushed him into the wall. There was a table pushed into his middle almost slicing him in two, and a chair thrust through the wall flattening his head in place.

"What about for these globs of goo?" Asked Mulder holding up more of the synthetic polymer.

"The ones we found in the evidence room?" Scully asked.

"Yep," Agreed Mulder. "I'm guessing Max Harden could tell us how they got there."

"You think Max did this?" Scully asked, not sure where Mulder was going with this. "Based on what?"

"I spoke to a few students myself. Apparently Max was angry at Mr Babbitt because he failed him on his midterm exam, so he had motive."

"Well he may have had motive, but he didn't have opportunity." Scully countered. "There was nobody here who saw him even go near the victim."

"Maybe he didn't need to." Mulder said and Scully looked at him with disbelief. "I pulled his records. Rising attendance and discipline problems over the last few months, but look at his transcript." He showed her his grades, all A's. "As his behaviour was getting worse his grades were going through the roof. This kid has changed Scully."

"Well, Mulder he's a teenager. Everything about him is changing. His body, his brain chemistry is in a state of unparalleled upheaval, plus there peer pressure and substance abuse. Any one of these factors could alter his behaviour radically." She said.

"What if it's given him a kind of psychokinetic or paranormal ability that allows him to exert force over a victim without ever laying a finger on him?" said Mulder excitedly.

"That's your theory?" said Scully sighing.

"Yes, it is. Soon to be proven." Said Mulder confidently. "As soon as I get Max in for questioning."

Ah huh, sure thought Scully, as a Deputy walked up to them.

"Agent, you needed to speak with Sheriff Harden?"

"Yeah." Said Mulder "I want to talk to him about his son."

"Uh, He's with him now. They're taking him to the emergency room. Max just collapsed in the parking lot."

They turned to look at each other.

"Well agent Scully, care to take a drive with me to the local hospital?" asked Mulder.

"Yes, lets." Said Scully and they walked back to the car.

They got in and Mulder started the car and pulled out heading for the hospital. "You know Scully, I bet Max collapsed because he over exerted himself with the murder. Maybe his brain shut down."

"He probably collapsed because he just watched one of his teachers get pinned to the wall like a beetle, Mulder. I saw plenty of hysteric kids while I was interviewing the witnesses."

"Well, I guess we will see Scully."

When they got to the hospital they asked for directions to Max's room and headed there. Sheriff Harding was standing by the end of the bed when they walked in. He turned to follow them in.

"What, No candy?" joked Max "No flowers?" Mulder gave him a look, smart mouth little shit, he thought to himself, I'm going to get you.

"My Deputy told me you were coming and why." Said the Sheriff. "So you can just turn right around. Whatever the hell happened at that school my son didn't do it."

"Sheriff we'd like to ask your son some questions. If that's okay." Said Scully

"The boys sick. The doctors can't even say what's wrong with him." Argued the Sheriff.

"Well, Max could tell them." Said Mulder. "You know why you collapsed, don't you Max?"

Scully lifted Max's chart up to have a look at the Doctors report. She check for abnormal brain function but there was nothing there.

"Yeah too much teen spirit." Max spat at Mulder.

"You think?" Said Mulder. "Smells like murder to me."

"Who do you think you're talking to here?" the Sheriff piped up with.

"Yeah. It's not like you got a damn thing on me." Agreed Max.

"You got a problem with authority figures, don't you Max?" Mulder teased, hoping to get a rise out of the kid."

"If I wasted Babbitt then how did I do it? Am I, like, Carrie or something?" His voice dripped with sarcasm. "I used some kind of mental powers?" He coughed.

"No, something else." Said Mulder, he knew it couldn't be telepathy. This kid hated authority too much to tell the truth, even if he thought no one would believe him. "You figured out a way to tap into something that gives you superhuman powers. Came in handy with Babbitt and Deputy Foster."

There was an awkward pause in the room while everyone processed what Mulder had said. Scully was used to his wild theories by now, and the reactions that they pulled out of people. So she was not surprised in the least when Max said.

"Man, your whistling Dixie."

She kept reading his chart.

"High temperature and heart rate, low blood sugar, Electrolytes show acidosis. All of these symptoms are consistent with extreme exertion, and withdrawal." She said looking up at Max.

"Withdrawal?" Asked the Sheriff. "From What?"

"The rush." Said Mulder. "I think that whatever it is that gives you the power to rearrange furniture and turn a flashlight into a battering ram, also gives you quite a buzz."

"Well if I can do all that, then what's stopping me from doing it to you?" Max threatened.

"I don't know. Maybe the effects worn off. Maybe you need another fix." Said Mulder.

"As soon as I blow out of here I'll be sure to get one." Said Max in the same threatening tone.

"That's not going to happen anytime soon." Said Scully. "Your condition is getting worse, and we're not going to be able to help you, unless you can tell us what's going on."

Sheriff Harden shuffled back and forwards on his feet. "Boy, is any of this true?" He asked his son.

"No." Said Max softly

"You better pray I don't find out it is."

"Sir." Said Mulder softly to the Sheriff. "Can we have a word outside?"

The three of them left Max in his bed and walked out of the room, closing the door behind them.

"He's not a bad kid." Said the Sheriff. "He just need discipline."

"If your son is in trouble, I'm sure you'd want to know about it." Said Mulder. "With that in mind, we'd like your permission to search your house."

The man Scoffed. "Well you're not getting it. I'm not ready to jump on a bandwagon and call my boy a murderer." And with that he walked away.

Scully turned to Mulder. "There's some test results missing from Max's chart, I think we should track them down."

Mulder nodded and they walked up to the nurse's station, Scully handed Max's chart to a nurse as she walked by. While Scully ordered the missing test results, Mulder stood meditating on Max Harden. He knew that Max was there man, but how? It obviously wasn't telepathy, at whatever it was, it wore off. It definitely affected him physically, but both deaths had witnesses and no one had seen him move. Rush, it has something to do with the rush.

"It's going to take a little while." Said Scully knocking him out of his ponder. "Want to get some lunch?"

"Hospital food, Scully?" Said Mulder grimacing.

She rolled her eyes. "It's not that bad at the café, come on, I'm buying." She said and pulled along by the arm.

The _Café_ as Scully had called it had turned out to be very similar to a school cafeteria, and just as unappealing. But they had sandwiches in the fridge that didn't look to bad, so Scully grabbed out a couple and a bottle of diet coke each.

"Thanks." Said Mulder as she handed him the food.

They sat there looking at all the people coming and going, most looked stressed, or sad but everyone looked like they had a story to tell, so it was interesting enough to keep them occupied while they ate. When they were done they headed back to the nurses station, who gave them a file with all of Max's medical information and directed them to an unused exam room where they could read the x rays.

As Scully put up the numerous x rays she commented "Hot off the presses"

"Anything interesting?" asked Mulder.

But as Scully read the information she was confused. "This can't be right." She said.

"What is it?"

She checked the details to be sure they had the right medical files. "Oh my God,"

"What?" Mulder asked looking closer at the X rays.

"Evidence of cerebral lesions from repeated concussions. Arthritis in his spine and major joints. Stress fractures, numerous muscle and ligament micro-tears."

"What would cause this?" asked Mulder.

"In a teenager? I can't even imagine." She said looking at him. The damage was incredible, she wasn't sure how he was still walking around the pain would have been unbearable. "This is the kind of thing that you'd see in someone who has crashed race cars, or played pro football for fifteen years." She shook her head. "Whatever Max is doing, it's killing him."

"I think I'm starting to get it." He said looking at Scully.

She looked back, still clueless. "Well what is it?" she asked.

"No, not yet Scully, I need to check something first. Can we get Max's stuff?" He was ninety percent sure on how Max was killing his victims the one thing he needed to tie this all together was the answer to the synthetic polymer that they had found.

Scully and Mulder walked back to the nurse's station and asked for Max's personal effects. She reached down under the desk and pulled out a plastic bag, which had the clothes he had been wearing when he collapsed in it. They took it back to the exam room.

"Max Harden's personal effects." Announced Mulder opening the bag.

"Yeah." Said Scully curious at what Mulders hunch was.

He rifled through the bag until he came across the young man's shoes. He turned them over and looked at the soles. "Oh…. This is it! Those globs we found, this is where they came from."

He showed Scully the shoe, the sole looked melted, like it had been burned. She looked up at him to find out what it meant. "Speed, Scully. Somehow Max Harden has found a way to move faster than the eye can see."

"Mulder." Began Scully that was impossible. But he cut her off.

"That would explain how Babbitt was killed. It would also explain how a chair and a table appeared to move on their own, with enough force to penetrate a wall. Force equals mass times acceleration, isn't that right?"

"Yes Mulder, but it's impossible. The human body just isn't designed to move like that." Said Scully.

"Exactly! That is why his is falling apart." Said Mulder excitedly, pointing at the x rays.

Scully was about to argue with him when the door opened and a nurse rushed in.

"Agents!" Said the nurse. "Could you?" She gestured at them "the patient, Max's Harding, he's gone."

They quickly left the room headed for Max's room, sure enough he was gone.

They looked at each other, they had to find him. Max's attacks were getting more violent. And more frequent, if they didn't find him soon he would most definitely kill again.

"Where would he go?" Asked Scully, "He couldn't even walk."

"He's gone to get another fix." Said Mulder. "We need to find out where he is getting his power from."

They wracked their brains. "Okay, Max has a problem with authority right?" Said Mulder.

"I think that's abundantly clear." Replied Scully, following his thinking. She looked up. "Mulder, the Sheriff!"

They ran out the door Mulder, calling the Sheriff's office on the way. "He's at home Scully, I got the address, and there are uniforms on the way."

"Let's hope we're not too late." Said Scully as they entered the car.

When they arrived at the sheriff's house there were police cars and officers milling around, as they got out an ambulance pulled up. They hurried over to a deputy. "What happened?" Scully asked the officer.

"We found the sheriff on the floor, he's hurt real bad."

"But he's alive?" She asked. The deputy nodded, Scully turned to Mulder. "I'm going to ride with the Sheriff to the hospital."

"Okay, I'm going to check out the scene I will meet you there." Replied Mulder, and Scully walked off towards the ambulance. Mulder walked in to check out the scene.

The EMT's were loading the Sheriff on to a stretcher, there was no blood, and Mulder didn't know if that was a good sign, a police issue flashlight was sitting on the floor. "Bag that, will you." He said to one of the deputies, gesturing at the flashlight. He sighed and looked around the house.

Up in Max's bedroom he found twenty identical pairs of sneakers like the ones they had checked at the hospital. Hmm he thought, I guess he burns through them. He headed back downstairs picking up the flashlight on his way back to the car.

He saw Scully walking ahead of him down the hospital corridor. She was following the Sheriff and the team of hospital staff that were caring for him.

"Yo, Scully!" he called and jogged to catch up with her. She stopped and turned to face him as he came up to her. "How bad are his injuries?"

"Well, it's too soon to tell. He's unconscious and bleeding internally, apparently from a blow to the abdomen." She said.

"Yeah, Delivered with this." Said Mulder holding up the flashlight. "Max's weapon of choice against cops."

"Why would he leave it behind?" Scully asked "you think he's doing it to taunt the police?"

"No," said Mulder. "I think somebody intervened. I think that's why the Sheriff's still alive, and why his gun is missing."

"But if he can do what you claimed, then… who could possible intervene?" asked Scully.

"It's someone who knows exactly how Max does what he does, and someone who is finally standing up to him."

Scully nodded, it was all becoming clear. "Tony." She concluded. "How do we find him?"

"Well, I would guess the source where Max gets his power from." Said Mulder.

"The woods near where the deputy was killed." Said Scully, and the pieces fell into place. "You know Tony never came clean about what he was doing out there."

"Well." Said Mulder formulating a theory. "Maybe that's why the deputy was killed. Maybe he got too close to the truth." He knew from experience what happens when you brush up against the truth like that. His father, Scully's sister, they were all victims of his proximity to the truth.

"It's the only lead we have I think we need to head out there." Said Scully and Mulder nodded.

It wasn't far from the hospital only about a five minute drive. But it was full dark now and they didn't know what they were looking for. As they drove along the dirt track near where the deputy was slain, the headlights caught something reflecting back at them. It was a car, Tony was here alright. They pulled over and grabbed their flashlights ready to pursue on foot. But as they stepped out of the car a shot rang out. They ran towards the source of the sound finding a large outcropping of boulders. Mulder pointed his flashlight around, he couldn't see any bodies.

Scully noticed a gap in the wall of boulders and pointed her flashlight inside, it was a cave. She called Mulder over to check it out. They looked at each other, they didn't know what they would be walking into here. If that Max kid really did have super speed, they would have no hope. They stared at each other, trying to express how much they meant to each other. And then, raised their guns and walked inside.

The first thing they saw was Max, lying on the ground with a gunshot wound to his heart. As they turned the corner they found Tony, cradling Chastity who was sporting a similar wound, the gun was in her hand.

They lowered their weapons and walked toward Tony, who was shaking. "Chastity?" he asked rocking her back and forth.

"What happened here Tony?" Asked Scully softly. He looked like he was going into shock so she didn't want to exacerbate his condition.

"M…Max, he was going to kill us, so we tried to get back to the cave before him…. But we were too late." Said Tony tears falling down his face.

"This is where you get your super speed?" Asked Mulder. Tony just nodded.

Scully didn't want to upset him but she needed to know. "Tony, what happened with the gun?"

"I wasn't fast enough, I. I was trying to protect her. But Max took the gun. He was going to shoo….. Shoot me. And then…" He trailed off.

"The next thing you know the gun went off and Max and Chastity were hit." Said Mulder. "She would have been moving too fast for him to see Scully."

"We need to get uniforms out here, and Tony needs a doctor, he is going into shock." She said. This whole thing could get cleared up later. She pulled out her cell phone and dialled 911. "Agent Dana Scully here, were out near woodlands road, we need an ambulance and police. There has been a shooting."

"We will send one right away." Replied the dispatcher. "What's the status of the victims?"

"I have a teenage boy in shock and two dead." Said Scully looking at Tony, she hung up the phone. She would have to get him to move, the EMT's couldn't manoeuvre a stretcher in this cave. "Tony, we have to leave now." She said softly, moving over to touch his shoulder.

He looked up at her, his eyes were bloodshot and there were tear streaks down his cheeks. He nodded numbly and brushed back Chastity's hair before letting her go from his arms to rest on the ground. Mulder walked over and helped him up. Together the three of them limped out of the cave, Mulder half carrying the boy.

When they got back to the car the sound of sirens could be heard coming closer. They leant Tony against the car and waited. Less than a minute later police and an ambulance pulled up. Scully helped load Tony into the van and Mulder spoke to the Deputies that were swarming over them. He explained what he had saw happen and told the deputy that he wanted the United States Geological Survey team out here as soon as possible.

Mulder and Scully waited around answering questions and taking the deputies through the scene until they were cleared to leave. And then headed for the car. "You hungry Scully?" Mulder asked

"To be honest Mulder, I just want to go to sleep." She said wearily. He nodded and drove them to the local Motel 6, he checked them into a couple of rooms and handed Scully her key.

"Goodnight, Scully." He said, knowing that she would want her space tonight.

"Night Mulder." She replied and stepped into her room. She appreciated him not pushing to spend the night together. After seeing two teenager's lives cut short like that, she just wanted to crawl up in bed and cry. She would rather not have any witnesses to that.

The next morning Scully woke to a knocking sound. She sat up and blurredly looked around. The sound rang out again, it was the door. "Just a minute!" She called out and groaned getting out of bed. She hadn't slept well, what little she had was plagued with bad dreams. She crossed over the room and opened the door rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

Mulder stood on the other side. He couldn't help but think how cute she was first thing in the morning, before she put on her make-up and armour. He held out a cardboard tray with two coffee cups in it. "Coffee?" He asked, and she grabbed the cup thankfully. He stepped into the room and sat down on the bed. "I bought bagels too." He said and passed her the brown paper bag that housed the baked goods.

She looked in the bag, they were the real kind with cream cheese and salmon, "Thank you Mulder," She said and pulled one out to eat.

"So I booked us on the two thirty flight home, I figured that should give us enough time to finish up here. I want to go down to the caves, the USGS should be here by now and I want to see what they find." Said Mulder, between bites of his own breakfast.

"I want to go down to the hospital and see Tony, maybe he will give a clearer statement now that he isn't in shock." She replied.

"Want me to drop you off?" He asked.

"No, its fine," She said, she could see how eager he was to get down to the caves. "I have some stuff to do here first, I can take a cab."

"Alright then, I'm going to get going, I will meet you at the hospital." He said and kissed her cheek.

"Have fun Mulder." Said Scully smiling. He grinned and walked out the door. She sighed and went about getting herself ready for the day.

After showering and doing her make-up, she pottered around the motel room packing her bags. When she was ready to go she pulled out her cell phone and called a cab.

It was a short ride to the hospital, Scully wanted to look at Tony's charts before she saw him. She asked an attending if she could have a look at his medical files and set herself up in the exam room they had been using yesterday.

Whatever had caused the damage to Max's body, Tony had been exposed to it too she thought. But the strain on Tony's body was significantly less. He would recover quickly, she remembered how quickly she bounced back as a teen. Nowadays anything more than three glasses of wine and she was sporting a hangover that lasted days, she thought ruefully. She was only thirty six, and didn't feel old, but when working with teenagers the gap seemed to widen to a hundred.

She looked up at the clock, it was 11:30 Mulder would be here soon and she still needed to talk to Tony. She put away his files and headed to his room. He was lying in the bed looking despondent, his mother kept vigil in the chair to his right.

"Hi Tony, how are you feeling?" She asked walking in the room. "The doctors say you are recovering quite nicely." He looked up at her but said nothing. "I wanted to ask if you could go over what happened last night in the cave, now that you are feeling a little better."

"Why?" He asked "you were there, you saw what happened."

"I wanted to know what happened with the gun." She qualified.

"Max took it and was going to shoot me but Chastity stopped him." He said simply, it sounded like he had already told this story a few times.

"But how did Chastity get shot? The ballistics said that the gun only fired one round."

"She must have stepped in front of the bullet after she shot Max."

Scully raised an eyebrow. "She stepped in front of the bullet." She repeated.

"She was fast." Said Tony, shrugging.

"Look, my son has been through a lot," Said Ms Reed. "He has already been questioned by the police, why does he need to go through this again? He needs to rest and move on."

"I understand Ms Reed, we are just trying to get the facts." Said Scully carefully,

"The fact is, my son is a good boy! And whatever he got caught up in had nothing to do with him. He was just trying to make friends and got caught up in the wrong crowd. Put that in your report!" Spat Tony's mother.

Scully knew she wouldn't get any more out of Tony so she nodded and turned to leave. When she reached the doorway she turned and looked back at the boy. She wondered how his life would turn out. Watching your only friends die in front of you, she couldn't imagine the pain he must be feeling. She saw Ms Reed glaring at her and turned to leave, as she walked out of the room she bumped into Mulder.

"Oh, Did the USGS show up?" she asked him.

"Yeah, eighteen Geologists and three semis full of gear. They covered every inch of that cave." He replied

"And?" Scully asked. "What did they come up with?"

"Nothing." Said Mulder, the look of disappointment playing across his face. "Well, bat guano and above normal magnetic field readings, but nothing that would cause a physiological effect."

Scully tried hard to keep the, I told you so expression off her face. "What did you expect them to find Mulder?"

"I don't know, a Vortex like the one in Oregon. Gravitational aberrations, unique chemical compositions, relics that would indicate that the cave was a sacred site. Something! Anything! I don't know." He said sighing.

"Well, you and I were both in there and nothing happened to us." Scully reasoned. "We're still slow poking around." She joked

Mulder gave her a serious expression. "What if we're too old?" He asked, Scully's face twisted into a sympathetic look, "Well, you said that teenagers differ from adults chemically and physiologically." He quickly followed up. "What if whatever is in that cave affects only them?"

"Well, that's doubtful." Said Scully. But as she looked up to his defeated expression she said. "But no more doubtful than any other theory. I mean, it's worth checking out."

"Yeah?" Asked Mulder. "Well we can't. As of an hour ago they pumped concrete into the cave, sealed it for precautionary reasons. We'll never know." They both looked at each other. How many times had they had proof of supernatural occurrences only to have it ripped away? "How's he doing?" He asked nodding his head at Tony's room.

"Bruises and muscle strains mostly. He'll recover." Answered Scully. "Go back to being a normal kid."

They both knew that while his physical wounds would heal, the psychological damage inflicted on the boy would prevent him from ever feeling normal again.

"Let's go." Said Mulder, putting a hand on the small of her back and guiding her towards the elevator. She had left her bags at the front reception desk, and stopped to collect them on the way out.

"Got everything?" Mulder asked.

"Yep." Replied Scully. They got in the car, happy to put this small town behind them. Even though it was lunch time, they opted for the hour long drive back to Roanoke before stopping for lunch.

Mulder pulled up outside the diner that Scully had gotten coffees for them their first night on the case. And as Mulder got out of the car he turned and looked across the road to the bookshop he had visited. It was gone. A ladies apparel shop in its place. He stopped and stared, the entire building looked different, the shop window was bigger and the brick work was an entirely different pattern, he blinked. And scanned up and down the street. He couldn't see the book shop anywhere. He turned back to the diner, it was definitely the same diner he and Scully had gone to the other night.

He was still standing by the car gaping when Scully who had walked to the door noticed he wasn't behind her. "Mulder?" she called out, worrying about the confused expression on his face. He shook his head as if to clear it, and shut the car door walking over to Scully. "What is it?" she asked

"Nothing, I ah thought I forgot something." He replied smiling to himself.

There would always be mysteries in their world, and they would always try to explain the unexplainable. But sometimes, every now and then, the mysteries were meant to stay mysteries, content just to bring them together.


	13. Love, luck and other Misfortunes C1

Jan 28 2000 7:00 PM

He got out of the car and brushed back his dark spiky hair. He was finally going to see Scully. He had seen her at work of course, but that was different. Work was the epitome of professional, you never knew who was watching. He longed to reach out and brush an errant strand of that fiery hair behind her ear, to wrap his arms around her. But he didn't. It had been almost a week since he had seen her out of work and to say that he was looking forward to it was an understatement.

He reached down into the car and pulled out a bottle of red and a couple CD's, humming to himself as he locked the car and headed up to her front door. As he approached her apartment door he quickly checked his breath and smoothed down his white button down shirt. He knocked on the door and waited.

He didn't even try to hide his surprise when the door was opened by Langly instead of the petite red head that he was expecting.

"Mulder, what's up?" Said the tall lanky man. "You here to see Scully?"

"Langly? What are you doing here?" Said Mulder, stepping past him and into the apartment. Thank god I put the wine and CD's into a bag, he thought. "Scully?" He called out.

"In the Kitchen!" Her voice called back to him.

He nodded to Langly and walked towards the kitchen. Scully was standing next to the stove listening intently to the short older man currently pouring oil into a pan.

"See the trick is to sear in the flavor first, then lower the heat down to cook it. Oh hey Muldy."

"Hey Hickey, what are you doing?" Asked Mulder.

"I'm just teaching the delectable Agent Scully here how to make the perfect enchiladas." Answered Frohike.

"Oh, okay. Ah, why?" Asked Mulder, he was getting really annoyed at the Gunmen's intrusion to his night with Scully.

"The boys came over to do my weekly bug sweep and Hickey here, asked if he could make dinner." Explained Scully. "Could you excuse us for a minute?" She asked Frohike, taking Mulder by the arm and leading him down the hall. When they were clear of listening ears she whispered. "What was I supposed to do? He showed up with groceries." her eyes pleaded for understanding.

"Tell him you had plans." Said Mulder petulantly. Scully threw him a look and Mulder sighed. "I know, I just missed you, we haven't spent any time together in a week." He said sullenly.

"Mulder, I was with you all day." Said Scully rolling her eyes.

"That's not what I mean and you know it." He said and crossed his arms over his chest.

"It's only dinner, they've already done the sweep so we can kick them out as soon as were done. Then it's just you and me I promise." She said brushing her hands up his arms.

"How was the sweep?" He asked unfurling his arms to wrap them around her waist.

"The same as usual. Nothing, I don't know why you want me to keep doing this Mulder, they have never found anything."

It was true, they had found nothing more since they first checked over the apartment. But considering what they had found the first time, Mulder wasn't taking any chances. Scully still had no idea that they had done the first sweep. Mulder thought it was best not to scare her with what they had found, or at least, that's how he justified keeping it a secret. He wasn't so much worried about scaring Scully, as he was enraging her, if she found out that they had checked her home without her consent. He bent down to kiss away her questions, just as Byers walked around the corner and into the hallway.

They quickly let go and turned to face their friend. "Ah." Said Byers, his face reddening. "Frohike told me to come get you, he said that dinner is almost ready." He promptly turned around and headed for the dining room. Mulder and Scully looked at each other both wondering what Byers had made of them embracing like that. Scully broke the eye contact sighing and headed for the kitchen to help set the table. Mulder took a deep breath and followed behind her.

When he reached the dining room he saw a still red faced Byers sitting next to Langly at the table. Mulder took the chair opposite them and sat down.

"So Mulder, what brings you over to Scully's tonight. You got an interesting case?" Asked Langly. "Need any help?"

"No just paperwork, expenditures reports and stuff." Said Mulder. It was their standard cover story if they ever got busted at each other's houses. "But thanks."

"No problemo, if I find anything juicy I'll throw it your way." Replied Langly.

Mulder nodded to the other man, and looked over at Byers. He seemed determined not to make eye contact. I guess he saw more than we would have liked, thought Mulder. He hoped that Byers would keep his mouth shut, if he told the others he would never hear the end of it.

Scully and Frohike entered armed with cutlery and plates, and after setting the table Scully took the seat next to Mulder while Frohike went back to grab the food. An uncomfortable silence settled over the table. Scully rubbed her foot down Mulder's leg reassuringly. She opened her mouth to speak and Frohike walked in.

"I hope you're hungry!" he said putting the food out in the center of the table.

They all tucked in and before too long the silence was gone, replaced with jokes and conspiracy theories. After an hour or so Mulder cleared his throat and said. "Well it's been fun boys, but Scully and I still have a lot of work to do tonight so…."

Byers jumped up from the table. "Right!" he exclaimed. "Time to go guys, let's leave the Agents to do their work."

Frohike and Langly looked up at the third member of their group confused. But they both stood up and started gathering their things. "You don't want any help with the clean up?" Frohike asked Scully.

"No, no it will be fine." She replied. "Mulder can help me." Byers face went red again and he headed for the door.

The other Gunmen followed behind their friend saying their goodbyes. As the door closed behind them Frohike turned to the others. "Called it!"


	14. Love, luck and other Misfortunes C2

Jan 28 2000 9:18 PM

Mulder and Scully flopped down on the couch. They had just finished cleaning up the mess from dinner and Scully was eager to go through the CDs that Mulder had brought over.

"The Best of Van Morrison?" asked Scully turning the case over in her hands.

"Don't you like the Van?" asked Mulder, pulling his best pouting face.

"No he's okay, I guess I was expecting more Elvis," She said going through the bag.

"Well I did bring Sinatra," Admitted Mulder. "And Ella Fitzgerald, but I will always have a soft spot for Van Morrison." He grabbed the CD up from the coffee table where Scully had left it, and put it into the CD player. He skipped through the tracks playing a jazzy number with horns. They sat listening cuddled up, wine forgotten in the kitchen. He leaned in to catch her lips with his own. Just as she moved to deepen the kiss, the shrill sound of Scully's phone rang out, cutting over the music.

"Who would be calling this late?" Asked Mulder as she got up and turned down the music.

"Other than you?" She shot and headed for the phone. "I'm not sure, I guess we will find out." She said and picked up the phone. "Hello."

"Hey sis."

"Charlie? Hey what's wrong? Why are you calling so late?" she said and mouthed an apology to Mulder before walking into the kitchen.

"Well," She heard her younger brother take in a deep breath, uh oh, she thought. "Jason and I broke up."

"Are you sure you didn't just have a fight?" Asked Scully. Her brother Charlie and his partner Jason had been dating since college and while, a little turbulent at times. Scully had always thought of the two of them as in it for the long haul.

"No." Charlie was crying now. "He left me for someone else. They had been sneaking around for months."

"No! That Fucking Asshole!" said Scully angrily. "I can't believe him! What can I do to help?"

"Can I come and stay with you? Just until we settle the house." He and Jason shared a small two bedroom cottage in New York. "I don't have anywhere else to go. Mom…" he trailed off.

"Don't worry about Mom, I won't even tell her that you're here if you don't want." Said Scully. "Are you driving down or do you want me to pick you up at the airport?"

"No, I'll be fine I will drive down tomorrow if that's okay."

"Of course it is, I will make up the guest bedroom for you tomorrow. Charlie just please be safe on the drive, and call me when you get into town."

"Thanks Sis, love you."

"Love you too." She said and ended the call.

When Scully walked back into the living room she found Mulder sprawled out on the couch with the booklet from his CD in his hands singing along with the music. While she couldn't carry a tune, Mulder was not bad. She moved back to the table behind the couch and put the phone back in its cradle.

"What was that about Scully?" Asked Mulder looking up at her.

She moved around to the couch and he lifted his legs so she could sit down before placing them in her lap. "That was my little brother Charlie. He's coming to stay for a little while."

"Is everything alright?" Scully rarely mentioned her little brother, in fact he couldn't remember anyone in her family mentioning Charlie, even when he stayed over at Christmas a few years back.

"Well," Said Scully carefully. She wasn't sure how Mulder would react to the news that Charlie was gay. "He broke up with his partner."

"Oh, that's sad. How long had they been dating?" Asked Mulder curious about the mysterious Charlie.

"Eleven years." She said sadly.

"Wow, were they married?"

"Um, no. they can't get married… Charlie's partner is a man." She said carefully. Looking at his face to see how he reacted.

Mulder nodded. "So do you think they will get back together?" He asked. He didn't show any sign of disgust or shock, just concern. He was so wonderful at times.

"I don't think so, Jason….. That's his partner, was cheating on him." She said relaxing.

"What a Dick. Want me to make some calls? We could put out a warrant on some unpaid parking fines if he has any." He joked, he could see how upset Scully was about her brother.

She laughed. "No, that won't be necessary, but it does mean that my place will be occupied for a while."

Oh right. He sat up, Mulder hadn't thought about that, it had been hard enough going a whole week without seeing her after work. How would he go when she had a guest for the foreseeable future? "Well, your Mom only lives a few suburbs away, I'm sure he will want to spend some time with her so…." He trailed off when he saw Scully's face go white.

"Mulder, you can't tell my Mom that he's here! They don't, she wouldn't…." Scully struggled to find the words to explain. How was she supposed to tell Mulder that her family had disowned her brother?

"Okay Scully, the next time your Mom and I have lunch I won't say anything." He joked. "Seriously, you can trust me. What's the problem?" he tried very hard to keep his expression blank, it had been somewhat of a surprise to learn that Charlie was gay. But that wasn't a big deal, he had no problems with anybody's decisions on who they loved. It was none of his business, just like his love life was none of theirs. But it was obviously a big deal to Scully.

"Mom and Charlie haven't spoken to each other since he came out. Mom is very religious, as you know, and Charlie kind of sprang it on us one Thanksgiving. It didn't end well." She didn't say that her Mom and screamed at him that he was going to hell and threatened to call the police if he and his boyfriend didn't leave. Or how her Dad had just sat there dumbfounded. She still felt guilty for staying at the house instead of chasing after him with Missy.

"Your religious, how do you feel about it?"

He always asked the hard questions when it came to her faith. She sighed. "It was hard at first, especially with Mom and Bill saying he was going to hell. But I would like to believe that God loves all his children, I don't believe that he would make a person feel like that and then punish him for it."

"But Maggie does." Said Mulder. Damn, he thought, I really liked Scully's Mom.

"She's not a bad person Mulder, she just doesn't understand it. I will always have hope that she will come around. She does love her son." She looked into his eyes begging him to see how it tore her apart, loving both her Mother and Brother even though they couldn't love each other.

"Well I'm looking forward to meeting him." He said reaching out to caress her face. "When's he coming?"

"Tomorrow sometime." She said smiling at him.

"Tomorrow! That means I only have you to myself for the night." He pulled her into his lap and pressed a kiss into her jaw. "I guess I should make the time count." He murmured in her ear sending a shiver of heat down her spine.

"I guess so." She whispered back to him before pulling him in for a deep longing kiss.


	15. Love, luck and other Misfortunes C3

Jan 29 2000 10:13 AM

A piercing ring in his ears woke Mulder up. He heard Scully next to him fumble for the phone.

"Hello." She said sleepily.

He cuddled into her, hoping that she would hang up the phone soon. He had been having a wonderful dream. Scully sat upright.

"Your where? Okay see you soon." She said and hung up the phone. She turned to look at him while he lay with his eyes closed dozing. "Mulder."

"Yeah Scully." He replied still not opening his eyes.

"You got to go." Said Scully as she hoped out of the bed and pulled on her pajamas.

His eyes shot open. "What?" he asked confused, but she was already walking out of the room. He quickly stood up and threw on his clothes before heading out to the kitchen to look for her.

He looked around the kitchen and dining area, she wasn't there and it didn't look like she had made any attempt at coffee yet. He walked over and started to fuss with the coffee machine. When he was done making the coffees he called out. "Scully?"

"In here." She called from the guest bedroom.

Mulder walked up to find her busy making the bed. "I made you a coffee." He said walking up behind her to place his hands on her shoulders.

"Charlie is in town already, he will be here in twenty minutes, I don't have time for coffee. I need to get the room ready for him." She replied shrugging him off and walking over to the stack of pillows that needed pillowcases put on.

"Let me help, what do you need done?" He asked.

"Can you clear out some space in the closet? Just put it all in my room I'll put it away later." She said shaking the pillow into its sheath.

He walked over to the closet and opened the door. There must have been at least fifteen shoe boxes in there as well as some of Scully's summer clothes. "Do you really need that many shoes?" He asked turning to look at her.

She shot him an annoyed look. "Yes, shut up. I like shoes." His eyebrows went up, but he didn't ask. He reached down and tried to gather up as many of the boxes as he could, and walked them back into her room putting them on the bed.

By the time he had made two trips she was done making the bed and moved to help him gather up the last of her clothes. "Thank you." She said as they dumped them on her bed. She looked down at the alarm clock. "Crap, you have to go now." She turned and all but pushed him to the door.

"Whoa why the rush?" He protested.

"Mulder, my brother will be here any second and I don't want the first time he meets you to be in my apartment on a Saturday morning after you look like you spent the night." She explained impatiently.

"But I did spend the night." He teased.

"Yes and if you ever want to spend the night again you will get out." Said Scully opening the door.

"Don't I even get a goodbye kiss?" He said giving her the puppy dog pout. He knew he was winding her up, but she was so cute when she exploded at him.

She gave him an exasperated sigh and leaned in to give him a peck on the lips. As soon as their lips met he surprised her by wrapping his arms around her and pinned her into a passionate kiss. When they broke apart she smiled at him. "Now go!" she said pushing him out of the door.

She shut the door behind him and walked into the kitchen to wait for the buzzer. By the time she reached the coffee that Mulder had left her it was just right. She took a sip and let out a sigh of contentment. She had missed seeing Mulder for the past week, but her _Aunt Flo_ had visited and with their relationship being so new she wasn't sure if she should tell him. Based on his behavior last night their personal relationship seemed to Scully more like a sexual relationship than an emotional. That was probably for the best she thought, rationalizing away her feelings. She didn't want to think about the two of them become more than that, it was far too complicated.

Just then she heard a knock on the door, Charlie must have been let into the building by one of her neighbors. She walked over and opened the door.

"Hi Squirt." Said Charlie. He had always been taller than her growing up, although she had three years on him. Now as an adult he had maxed out at 6.5'. He had his Brother Bill's build, but like his Sister and Father he had inherited the flaming locks, which sat in floppy curls around his crown. His eyes were the same shade of blue as Scully's but his smile was more like Melissa's always reaching a little higher on one side. When they were younger, before the thanksgiving disaster, they used to joke that he was the missing link in the family. While people struggled to see the family resemblance of the older Scully children and the youngest daughter, Charlie resembled everyone.

"Don't call me Squirt." Said Scully, pulling him in for a hug.

They grabbed his bags and she showed him to the guest room. After Charlie had unceremoniously dumped his things on the floor at the foot of the bed he and Scully flopped down on the mattress head to head, like they used to when they were kids. "So, how are you?" Scully asked, already knowing the answer.

"I don't know really, eleven years Dana, I've never even been with anyone else." He said.

"We need coffee." Said Scully jumping off the bed. She reached down and pulled at her brother. "We need coffee, and ice cream, and terrible old movies." She dragged him out of the room.


	16. Love, luck and other Misfortunes C4

Jan 29 2000 10:30 PM

For the second time today, Mulder was woken by the shrill ringing of a phone. This time however he had been hoping for the call. "Hello." He answered.

"Mulder, it's me." Came the voice he had been waiting for.

"Hey Scully, how's Charlie doing?" Concern playing in his voice.

"As well as can be expected I suppose. He's sleeping now, or at least he ought to be, we got into the scotch a bit." She said giggling a little at the last part.

"Dana Katherine Scully, are you drunk dialing me?" He teased.

"Maybe, what are you wearing?" She retorted, remembering all the times Mulder would ask her that question when she called him at work.

"You little vixen." He said in mock horror. "But seriously, are you two okay?"

"Honestly, I don't know." She said truthfully. "I always looked at Charlie and Jason as a sign that true love exists, that there really is the other half of your soul out there waiting for you to find it."

Wow, she really was drunk he thought to himself. But she was finally sharing something personal. He knew he should hang up, she would hate that she told him this, but he was just too damn curious. "So you don't believe that anymore?"

"Well, I want to believe….. God Jason is such an asshole. After everything Charlie went through to be with him, did you know he wasn't even invited to Dad's funeral? Jason is an ass, my Mom is an ass. Love just sucks doesn't it? Everyone is an asshole." She was slurring her words now, just a little.

"Including me?" He asked.

"No Mulder, you're not an asshole. Crazy, maybe. But not an asshole."

"You think I'm crazy?" He was teasing her now.

"Like padded walls and restraints crazy, but I like you anyway. Hey speaking of restraints, would you like to come over?" She tried her best to put on a sexy tone, but it lost some of it effectiveness due to the slurring.

He paused for a second thinking of the best way to answer that question. He knew it was a very bad idea and Scully would be embarrassed and possibly angry the next day if he did, and there was every chance that she would pass out in the twenty minutes it took him to drive over. "As much as I would like that, I think it would probably be better if I met Charlie properly before I make him breakfast."

"Oh yeah, that's what I was calling about, you just reminded me. Would you like to have lunch with us tomorrow? We were just going to go down to the diner up the street from my place."

"Sure, that sounds great, what time?" He asked.

"Twelve-thirty? Mm better make it one, I should not have drank so much."

"Sounds perfect, I'll see you there."

"Mm-Kay, Night Mulder." She yawned.

"Night Scully." He hung up the phone and tried to think if he had ever heard Scully that drunk before. He couldn't remember the last time he'd seen her have more than a glass or two of wine. He hoped it wouldn't be a common occurrence now that her brother was in town. Drunk Scully was cute, but he wasn't sure how much of her truths he wanted to hear.

0000

The next day Mulder arrived at Debs Diner a little earlier than expected. He looked around but it was clear that Scully and her brother hadn't got there yet, so he chose a booth and sat down.

He had just finished ordering coffee for the three of them when he saw his partner walk through the door followed by her brother. They both looked a little worse for wear. Scully, who never left the house without her hair perfectly straightened and her make up on, had her hair tied back in a scrunchie and huge sunglasses covering her eyes. Charlie looked like he had just gotten out of bed. They walked over and slid into the booth across from him.

The waitress walked over with their coffee orders. "Three cups of black coffee here you go. Are you ready to order?" she asked.

"Can I get the all-day breakfast?" Asked Scully. Who had snatched up her coffee as soon as it had been put on the table.

"Same." Mumbled Charlie.

"Three orders of the all-day breakfast then please." Said Mulder smiling to the waitress.

"Okay Hun, coming right up." Said the waitress and walked away.

Mulder looked back at his partner and her brother. Scully was currently nursing the coffee under her nose between tiny sips, while Charlie poured packet after packet of sugar into his. They both looked so miserable it was almost funny, although he knew laughing at them in their current condition was a sure fire way to unleash Scully's wrath. He remembered how he felt after he had gone on a bender, and waited for Scully to be ready to talk.

About half way into her coffee she was finally able to speak. "Mulder, this is my brother Charlie. Charlie, this is Mulder."

Mulder held out his hand and Charlie reached across and shook it. "It's nice to meet you man, any friend of Dana's is a friend of mine."

They passed into easy conversation as the food arrived and by the time they had all eaten a healthy serving of bacon and eggs, the hangovers that plagued the Scully siblings was all but gone.

"So what do you do Charlie?" Asked Mulder.

"I'm a Lawyer, go ahead and make all the blood sucker jokes you like. I've heard them all." He joked.

"Oh, that's interesting, what kind of lawyer are you?" Mulder asked cagily.

"He's not a defense attorney Mulder, don't worry." Said Scully rolling her eyes.

"Ah, okay good. I, ah, don't really get on well with defense attorneys." He explained going a little red.

"Yeah well, most people don't tend to get on with the guy that likes to punch them in the face." Said Scully with a laugh.

Charlie looked at Mulder curiously, wanting to know the story behind his sister's comment. Mulder sighed. "It was a long time ago, I was working in the Violent Crimes Department. There was this case, this asshole was raping young women, but he always wore a mask and there was never any evidence. Eventually we got lucky and his last victim scratched a chunk out of the perp. Once we made an arrest and went to trial, the perp's lawyer got the DNA evidence thrown out on a technicality. The guy walked, he went on to kill two women before we caught him again."

Charlie sat back in his seat, he was thankful that he didn't defend people like that. "But, so how did you punch the lawyer?"

Scully laughed, "After the trial Mulder found him in the john and gave him a black eye."

"He knew his client was guilty Scully, he told me. What was I supposed to do?" He whined.

"Well you don't have to worry about that with me." Said Charlie. "I'm strictly a divorce attorney, you're not married are you?"

Mulder and Scully jumped and looked at each other. "No." they said at the same time.

Charlie snuck at look at his sister and her partner, who had both gone red and were busy looking anywhere but at each other. "Okay." He said trying to break the uncomfortable silence.

Mulder stood up, "I have to go, the Gunmen wanted me to stop by so. Nice to meet you Charlie." He nodded at the man and headed out the door.

Charlie turned to look at his still red sister. "He seems nice."

"Don't start Charlie." She warned.

"What?" He replied chuckling. "I didn't say anything." He looked at her, his eyes still dancing with laughter.

She groaned at him. "Come on lets go home it's too bright out here."


	17. Love, luck and other Misfortunes C5

Jan 30 2000 3:00 PM

Mulder pulled up outside the Gunmen's office he sighed to himself and turned off the car. He had been going over the lunch date with Scully and her brother in his head. Well that's another Scully brother who hates me. Why did he have to be a lawyer? Why did Scully have to bring up that story? He groaned and got out of the car.

"Hey Mulder," Said Langly as he opened the door. "You here to look at those reports?"

Frohike had called him that morning with reports of UFO activity over Wyoming. "Yeah, is Hickey in?" He said stepping through the door.

"Yep, in his cave." Said Langley gesturing behind him.

Mulder walked into the room Frohike called his cave, it was a small room with shelves full of crates and cables along the walls. A desk sat in the middle of the room covered in papers and a small computer wedged at one end. Frohike looked up from his computer. "Hey Muldy, come here I'm just looking over the data now."

He walked over to squint at the tiny screen. There was a map with little dots representing sightings. "What are the sources like? Are they credible?"

Just as Frohike opened his mouth to reply Byers walked it "Frohike have you seen my AUX cable?" Byers looked up and saw Mulder. "Oh Mulder, I didn't know you were here, never mind." He turned and walked away.

Mulder and Frohike looked at each other. That was weird. Mulder followed him out.

"Byers!" He called. "What is going on with you?"

Byers stopped and put his head down. "I'm sorry Mulder, I wasn't snooping, I haven't said anything."

"About what?" He asked before realizing why Byers has been acting so strange around him. The hallway at Scully's house, Byers saw them. He had forgotten that he had caught them. "Oh, you mean Scully and I."

Byers nodded still red. "I haven't said anything, it's none of my business."

Mulder stood thinking about how to handle this. "I appreciate that. It's just very new, and I'm not really sure what it all means yet."

"Sure thing." Said Byers, he smiled and looked up at Mulder. "Congratulations, Agent Scully is an amazing woman."

"I know." Replied Mulder.

0000

"Charlie!" called Scully, "I'm Home can you give me a hand?"

Charlie walked out of the guest room and saw her struggling to shut the front door with her hands full of grocery bags. "I thought you were just getting a few things. What's all this?"

"Well, I figured you would be staying for a while and I didn't want you to go hungry while I'm at work tomorrow so I figured I would stock up a bit." She said handing him some of the bags.

"You do know that I am a grown man right? I am capable of doing my own shopping when I need to. Besides, I was thinking about going down to the Washington office of my firm tomorrow and applying for a transfer."

Scully stopped unpacking and stared at him, she knew he was planning on staying for a while. But this sounded more like moving. "Are you sure you want to do that tomorrow, why not leave it a couple of weeks and see how you feel. You might miss New York, plus you still have to settle your house and all your stuff."

Charlie could see his sister's brain ticking over, he wondered if this had anything to do with her good looking partner. Perhaps it was better to wait a while, and he was expecting a call from Jason today about the house. He didn't know if they were going to sell it and split the profits or if he wanted to keep it. It was all too hard. "Your probably right Dana, I should see how I feel before making any big decisions."

Scully sighed in relief, and went pack to unpacking. "If you want we could go down to the video store and rent a movie tonight?"

"I think I would rather stay in and catch up, when was the last time we really talked?" he said.

"We talked last night, I have the empty scotch bottle to prove it." She said warily.

"That was about me, I want to know about you. How's work? Do you love it? Are you seeing anyone?" He said cheekily.

"Works good, interesting. I guess I like it well enough." She replied. "Do you want a coffee?"

"Yes please two sugars, you didn't answer my last question." He wasn't going to let her off that easily, he knew there was something going on with her and that Mulder guy and he was going to make her tell him.

"Didn't I? Um, when am I supposed to find time to date? I work all the time, and at the drop of a hat I could get called out on a case on the other side of the country. It's not really conducive to the dating world." She handed him a cup of coffee and walked out of the kitchen.

"Your partners' pretty cute, and did he say he isn't married? Is he seeing someone?" He teased. Following her out into the living room.

"No, he isn't seeing anyone as far as I know." She said rolling her eyes at him.

"Do you think he's cute? Wait he's not gay is he? Because I totally missed that vibe."

"Charlie, he is not gay so you leave him alone. I will not have my baby brother hitting on my partner." She was getting annoyed at his questioning now.

"Okay so he's single and attractive, and you're single and relatively attractive." He said grinning.

"Thanks." She said shooting him a look that could peel paint.

"Well, I'm just saying. How long have you guys been partnered?"

"I am not having this conversation with you Charlie, drop it please." She was about three seconds from walking out on him.

"Okay, sorry." He knew he better drop it, his big sister was little, but fierce.


	18. Love, luck and other Misfortunes C6

Feb 10 2000 7:30 AM

Mulder walked into his office and flopped down on his chair. It had been nearly two weeks since Scully's brother moved in, and he barely saw her outside of work. The occasional times that he had, Charlie was always there. He was a nice guy and Mulder knew he needed support but he was really missing the alone time that he had gotten used to in January. He sighed and scanned the tabloid headlines again. They still hadn't had a case since Pittsfield, he was getting antsy. Nothing, as usual, damn. He turned on his computer hoping for an email or an alert. He was tempted to check out the UFO sightings that Frohike had put him on to, even though he knew that it was nothing. Two quick calls to the local air traffic control was all it took to blow that one out of the water.

His phone rang and he picked it up. "Mulder."

"Hey Mulder, its Chuck."

"Oh Hey Chuck how are you man?" He asked.

"Good. Good, hey have you heard the report that came in from the Chicago field office this morning?" Asked Chuck.

"No, why? Is it good?" he sat up, and grabbed a pen and some paper.

"Well according to their organized crime division, some guy took a swan dive off of a building owned by Cutrona."  
"The Mob Boss?" He asked writing the name down.

"That's the one, but this guy. He fell like thirty floors and then walked away." Said Chuck excitedly.

"You're kidding." Said Mulder.

"Nope, two agents watched it happen."

"Chuck, I got to go." Said Mulder hanging up the phone.

He practically ran out the door on his way to Skinners office to file his travel request.

0000

An hour later he was on a flight. He had called Scully as soon as he had approval but she had already left for work and needed to go home and pack so he had changed her flight for the next one and went on ahead without her. He used the flight time to read up on the measly report. They had no idea who this guy was, and no one got a clear look at his face. He wanted to get down to the field office as soon as he landed to try and pick up some more information.

He called Scully from the rental car and asked her to meet him at the street corner where the event had happened when she got there.

He got practically nothing from the field office, he wasn't surprised when he saw the agents that were on surveillance last night. They looked like they could work up a sweat lifting donuts to their mouths. Of course they didn't catch the man that was thrown. No one was helpful, all they wanted was the guy's name so they could get him to testify. Mulder sighed, it was time to check out the scene.

The first thing he noticed when he got to the street was the steel plates that covered the underground elevator. He couldn't imagine why they were left open. He walked over to the hotel to ask about it. All he had to do was flash his badge at reception and a minute later a weedy little man with a supervisor badge pinned to his shirt was there to help.

"Hi there, ah, Agent. I'm Rick, ah, what's this all about?" The man sort of hunched over when he talked as if he was expecting a blow any minute.

"Hi Rick, sorry to take up your time I was just wanting to take a look at your service elevator, the one that goes up to the street?"

"Ah, yeah, okay." He said nervously. "Follow me." He led Mulder through the hotel kitchen and down some stairs to the basement. There were carts full of sheets and towels everywhere.

"Do you use an outside linen service?" Asked Mulder after looking in a cart. He noticed that all the sheets and towels were folded, like they had just been delivered.

"Yes, um, Grayson's Linen service. Do you need their information?" He asked, eager to get Mulder out of his hair.

"No, not yet. But can you tell me did you have a delivered yesterday?" Asked Mulder.

"Yes, they came in at about nine last night, why?"

"Well last night the elevator doors were left open. Did you know that?" Mulder stared at the small man.

"Ah, well, yes I did. The elevator is old you see, and sometimes the doors get stuck, I noticed that they were open at about eleven last night and went and closed them. I know it's a safety hazard, please don't write me up for it!" Rick cowered at Mulder.

"So you didn't see anything?" He asked and Rick furiously shook his head. "Okay, we'll let you off with a warning this time, but I want unrestricted access to this basement for the rest of the day." Rick nodded and turned to scurry away. "Oh and Rick." He turned back to face Mulder. "Who owns the top floor to the hotel?"

"Jimmy Cutrona, leases the top two floors, but please don't tell him I told you." Said Rick, and then he all but ran away.

Mulder shook his head at the quickly disappearing man, people who deal with the Mob on a regular basis were all the same. Timid little rats. He walked over to the elevator and had a look at the controls. Just then his cell phone rang. "Hello." He said.

"Hey, Mulder it's me. What now?" Scully shouted over the traffic.

"Are you in Chicago?" Asked Mulder, hitting the up button on the elevator.

"Yes I'm in Chicago." Said Scully irately she was still pissed at him for not waiting for her. He always did this, running off to on some case forcing her to follow him, and today she was in no mood for it. Charlie hadn't made any attempt to settle things with Jason yet and it was looking more and more like she was going to have a permanent house guest. Which wouldn't be so bad but he took so long in the bathroom that morning that it had made Scully late, thus just catching the nine o'clock flight out here. For which she still had no idea why she was here. "I'm on the north east corner of 7th and Hunter, just like you asked. Only you're not here. So where are you?"

"Oh, around." He replied in a cheeky tone.

God damn it Mulder! She thought to herself, she had already spent $35 on a cab ride here and she desperately wanted a cup of coffee. "Yeah." She pressed waiting for more information.

"Hey nice outfit!" She heard a voice call and turned around to give the cat-caller a piece of her mind. Of course, it was Mulder, he was standing in some sort of elevator that came out of the ground. Well he certainly made an entrance. She thought to herself before walking over to meet him.

"Hey." She said nodding to the elevator. "What's down there?"

"Well, before you check out down there. Check out up there." He said pointing to the roof of the building next to them. She looked up to the top of the tall building. "Top two floors are leased to one Jimmy Cutrona, whose name you might be familiar with."

Scully nodded. "Organized crime. The Bureau's been trying to build a racketeering case against him for the past few years. Gambling, extortion, murder."

"Which is why last night there were two agents parked across the street in surveillance." He said pointing to where the surveillance car had been parked. "They witnessed a man being thrown from Cutrona's roof at 10:40 PM." Scully raised her eyebrows. That's certainly one way to get caught, she thought. "This man fell thirty floors, plus the distance down this shaft because the doors just happened to be open, straight through, nothing but net."

"Ouch" Said Scully.

"I'm guessing that's what he said. After he got up and climbed out of here and scampered off into the night." He gestured to Scully to follow him onto the platform, he pushed the button and they began the decent into the basement of the hotel.

"Mulder you keep saying this man, who is this man?" Scully asked, turning on her flashlight and pointing it into the darkened basement.

Mulder shook his head. "No idea, he got away. The agents gave chase but no clear description."

"Was this basement thoroughly searched?" She asked, wondering how a man who had just fallen all that way could evade two trained agents.

"No, technically falling three hundred feet and surviving isn't a crime." He joked.

"And your theory is?" Scully asked, wondering what tale Mulder was going to spin her this time.

"What if this man has some kind of special capability? Some kind of genetic predisposition towards rapid healing or tissue regeneration?" He postured.

"So, basically, what if we were looking for Wile E. Coyote?" she said flatly. Mulder looked exasperated. "You're saying that he's invulnerable, right?"

"Uh." Mulder tried to think of how to explain his theory.

"You know in 1998 there was a British soldier who plummeted 4,500 feet when his parachute failed, and he walked away with a broken rib." She said.

Mulder looked at her perplexed. "What's your point?" He asked.

"My point is that if there's a wind gust, or a sudden updraft. And, plus, if he landed in exactly the right way…. I mean, I don't know. Maybe he just got lucky." She said. Damn she wanted a better explanation than that. Well that's what you get for airline coffee.

"What if he got really, really lucky? That's your big scientific explanation Scully." He laughed and she flashed her torch in his eyes. "I mean, how many thousands of variables would have to convene in just the right mixture for that theory to hold water?"

"I don't know." She sighed, she was already thinking the same thing, it's still better than your Wile E. Coyote theory. She looked around for any evidence that would clear things up.

"Well, thousands." He pressed.

But she wasn't paying attention anymore. She was looking at the broken wheels of a cart nearby. "Mulder."

"Yeah." He replied.

"Look at this." She said shining her light on the broken wheels. "If this cart were on the platform when he hit. That would explain the condition of these wheels." He moved in to have a better look. "And what if this whole thing had just enough give to save his life?" she shook the cart to feel if it had any give.

"We'd have to find him to ask him." Said Mulder looking through the towels and sheets in the cart.

"Yeah, we have to find him." Said Scully, not sure how we are supposed to do that. She thought.

She was looking around the basement for anything else they could find, blood maybe for DNA if he was on file. Of course they would need a warrant to collect the blood anyway, which they won't get because it's not a crime scene. Maybe he dropped his wallet during the fall, Scully joked to herself. That would make life very easy.

Mulder was still looking through the cart when she heard something fall near him. It must have flicked out when he was pawing through. She shined her light on it and moved closer, Mulder right next to her. They crouched down, as Mulder turned the small round white thing over. It was a glass eye. "Looks like maybe we found part of him already." He threw the eye up in the air and caught it.

Scully gave him a look. "That's evidence Mulder, don't play with it." She put her hand out and he handed it to her. "Well." She said examining it in the light. "There's no serial number or anything trackable on it, we might be able to pull DNA off of it, if he's in the system."

"I have a better idea Scully." Said Mulder and he stood up and walked over to the elevator. She followed him wondering what he was up to.

He didn't say a word as they rose back up to the street. He just walked over to a phone booth and pulled out the phone book that was in there. "Hey Scully, you got a Quarter?" He asked flipping the book open to the optometrist section.

"You're not serious Mulder? Are you really going to ring every optometrist in the Chicago area?" there had to be thousands of people with glass eyes, and the doctors had no reason to give out their patients confidential information.

"Yep, do you want to help? I'll take this one." He said pointing to the top name and pulling out his cell phone.


	19. Love, luck and other Misfortunes C7

Feb 10 2000 10:23 AM

They were standing outside a dilapidated old building in Melrose Park, Scully was a bit happier after getting a cup of coffee into herself while they made their phone calls. She still couldn't believe they were here. "I think you're taking a flier here, Mulder. There's got to be at least six hundred people with prosthetic eyes in the greater Chicago area." He rang a buzzer.

"Yeah but only this one Henry Weems made an appointment this morning to get a new one." He still couldn't believe how lucky they were that they even got this lead. If it wasn't for the ditsy receptionist who didn't realize that she didn't have to give out private information about patients to the police, they wouldn't even have this name.

He rang the buzzer again. Still no response. "Maybe he can't see his way to the door." Scully joked.

She'd been joking a lot more recently, like she was more relaxed. Mulder hoped that he had something to do with that, as he smiled at her. Just then an old woman dragging a cart walked out of the building. Mulder quickly grabbed the door before it shut. "Come on, Scully. I'm feeling lucky." He said and they walked inside. "So, how's Charlie doing?" he asked as they made their way to the elevator.

Scully groaned. "He's driving me nuts! I mean, he's my brother, I love him. But I miss my space you know?"

Mulder nodded and rubbed her back while they walked. When they reached the elevator he hit the button and turned to look at her. "So what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to have a talk with him when we get back, see if I can't encourage him to find a place nearby." She said as they walked into the elevator.

"Charlie seems like a good guy, I'm sure he will understand." Said Mulder. They got off when they reached the third floor and started looking for Mr Weems apartment 313.

As they were checking the doors a woman came out. "Can you help me?" She asked. "It's an Emergency." She pointed back to her apartment and Mulder and Scully followed behind as she led them to the trouble.

When they got into the apartment they saw the woman gesture to the kitchen sink which was spraying out water at an alarming rate. "Ah, Ma'am we're not plumbers." Scully pointed out to the woman.

"I didn't say you were, I just want the damned water turned off so that I can go to work." She pick up a shifter from the table next to her and handed it to Mulder. "Look, you got to be stronger than me, right? Valves under the sink."

Scully tried not to laugh and Mulder shot her a terrified look, he took the shifter off of the woman and headed over to the sink. "You're ah, building super….. Henry Weems….. He isn't around?" He asked as he ducked down under the sink.

"Mr dependable? Might as well wait for Jimmy Hoffa to show up." She said with a sigh.

Scully noticed a young boy, maybe twelve walked up to see what all the fuss was about. He must be the woman's son, she thought. He looked sickly, like he had lost a lot of weight fast. Cancer? She guessed. But he had a full head of hair.

He was watching Mulder with interest. "You're turning it the wrong way." He said to him. And Mulder turned back to give him a look.

"Hey, Ritchie, Sweetheart. Back in bed." Said his mother turning him around.

"But Mom…." He whined.

"Butts are for sitting, and I want yours back in bed. He's right," She said to Mulder. "Clockwise."

Mulder had just about had enough of this. He was wedged under the sink his pants were getting soaked and his jacket was getting dust all over it. He didn't even know this woman and she had asked him for help. "I know that." He shot at her. Scully was still trying not to laugh at her partner. He probably never even unclogged a toilet in his life, she thought. "Clockwise." Mulder repeated as he moved to rectify his mistake.

But as he started turning it the other way the whole valve snapped of in the shifter. Water came pouring out soaking Mulder completely as he stood up. Scully covered her smile and hid her eyes. He was cute when he was flustered, she thought. Just then a creaking sound came from the floor. She blinked and he was gone! Where he stood a moment ago was a large hole with water dripping down into the apartment below.

She grabbed the woman's arm pulling her away from the kitchen and cautiously walked as close to the hole as she dared. She kneeled down to distribute her weight more evenly and pulled out her flashlight. She was relieved when she could see Mulder sitting up against the cabinet in the apartment below. "You okay Mulder?" She called.

"Yeah, it's alright." He called back to her. "My ass broke the fall." He can't be that badly hurt she thought if he is making jokes. "Guess who I found." He said to her before looking at a person hiding from Scully's view. "Henry Weems I presume?"

The man stepped into her view and looked up at the damage. "Don't worry Maggie I'll fix it. He called up to the woman behind Scully.

He helped Mulder up and the two of them headed upstairs to the apartment Scully and the woman were in. the woman excused herself and went to go check on her son, leaving Scully a good two minutes to laugh at poor Mulder as they made their way upstairs.

After five minutes under the sink with the kitchen table upturned to cover the hole. Henry had the water off. He turned to the woman, Maggie he called her. "I'll get some wood and repair this by tomorrow I promise." She just shook her head at him and handed Mulder a towel. Before grabbing her purse and walking out the door.

"Ritchie's probably sleeping, come on. I'll take you to my apartment." Said Henry walking across the hall to his place. When they got inside he said to Mulder. "Next time leave the plumbing to a professional."

Mulder dried his face and looked around, Henry Weems apartment was small, his furniture looked cheap and he had shelves full of gadgets and useless junk. "Oh uh… he reached into his pocket and retrieved the prosthetic eye he was carrying. He quickly dried it with the towel. "Want to try this on for size Cinderella?" He asked holding it out to the man.

Henry turned around and excitedly picked up the eye he reached into a draw and pulled out a cleaning cloth.

"Mr Weems," Asked Scully. "Why were you hiding in a vacant apartment?"

"Not hiding, avoiding." He corrected.

"Avoiding whom?" Asked Scully.

"You people, now that you've found me, let's just get it over with. No way am I testifying against Jimmy Cutrona." He said and went back to polishing his eye.

"Last night, Cutrona had you thrown of the roof of 1107 Hunter Avenue, is that correct?" Asked Scully.

"You didn't hear it from me." Said Henry. "I'm not letting you people move me to Muncie Indiana, to milk cows."

"More to the point," Began Mulder. "You survived a, uh, three hundred foot fall, essentially un-" Henry was putting his prosthetic eye back in right in front of them. Mulder had seen some disgusting things working for violent crimes but that was just gross. "Harmed." He finished with a grimace. He looked over to see if Scully was grossed out, but of course she wasn't. She smiled at him telling him with her eyes that she had just taken one of his man points.

"I don't know, Maybe the wind was just right…. And I landed on a bunch of towels, no biggie." Said Henry.

"You got lucky." Confirmed Scully. And Mulder sighed internally, he knew that he was never going to hear the end of this one.

"Yeah, I guess, except, you should look at my bruise." Said Henry rolling up the sleeve of his right arm and showing of a nice red graze on his elbow.

"Oh" Said Mulder in mock sympathy turning back to Scully again.

"Plus I didn't get to keep my poker winnings." Said Henry, believing their concern.

"So that's what you were doing there last night, playing poker?" Asked Scully.

"Cutrona thought I was cheating. I wasn't, but like I said. You didn't hear it from me."

"Must have been a high stakes game, I imagine. Did you win a lot of money?" Asked Mulder.

Henry shrugged. "I don't know…. A little." He sat down at the desk and started fiddling with a contraption that looked homemade.

Mulder looked over the machine. There were wires and lightbulbs and marbles built into the thing, it looked like a homemade version of the game mousetrap but instead of a trap at the end there was a little wooden figure with a noose around his neck standing on a wooden platform. "What is that?" He asked. "Did you make it?"

Henry looked up at him. "Uh huh, it's sort of a hobby." He explained.

"Mmhmm." Said Mulder. "Mind if I?" he asked and flicked a leaver at the front. The leaver let out a metal marble that created a chain reaction of different parts of the machine ending in a trap door under the little wooden man opening, effectively hanging the toy. "Ah." He said in appreciation. "That's craftsmanship. What does it mean?"

"What do you mean, what does it mean? It doesn't mean anything. I just sort of…. I don't know"

"Its cause and effect." Said Mulder.

Henry rolled his eyes. "So are we done here?" He asked.

"Mr Weems can I ask you to reconsider testifying against Cutrona?" Asked Scully.

"Nope…. No way Jose." He said committedly.

"Well it would be in your best interest. He's tried to kill you once, and he will undoubtedly do it again." She said.

"Yeah" Agreed Mulder. "We can protect you."

Henry looked at the pair seriously. "I'll take my chances."

They nodded. That was that, and turned to leave.


	20. Love, luck and other Misfortunes C8

Hello beautiful people, I am so glad you are enjoying my story. please send me reviews they are the highlight of my day. Shout outs to LoveShipper, Oldmoviewatcher, NikitaKaralis, and especially Tally. thank you for your responses I love you guys.

I'm going away on holidays for a week, I will try and post while I am gone. Don't worry, I will be bringing my laptop to keep writing, I'm just not sure I will always have internet access to post.

3 Angelsong.

Feb 10 2000 11:15 AM

They were standing by the elevator, Scully had just pushed the call button. Their case was over and she was eager to get back to D.C. Her brother didn't expect her home tonight and she was hoping to spend the night at Mulders.

"So, here's the plan as I see it. We inform the Chicago field office about Weems, leaving it to them to secure his testimony. You, change your clothes, we fly back to D.C by sunset. And all is right with the world." She tried to express her desire with her eyes. She didn't want to ask to stay, she wanted him to offer.

"Come on Scully, you're going to dump this case just as its getting interesting." He said, missing all her subtle cues. It was interesting, it's one thing when he thought there was some kind of super powers involved. But luck? Who is _that_ lucky? He'd said it before, thousands of variables. There had to be more to it.

"Interesting, Mulder was when we were looking for Wile E. Coyote." Said Scully frustration setting in. "Come on, Mulder. This guy just got lucky. There's no X File here."

"Maybe his luck is the X File." He replied.

Scully shot him a look. Of course you want to stay and chase this, she thought. This is why we wouldn't work, your work will always come first. She pressed the button for the lift again, must be broken. Just like everything else in this damn building. "Stairs." She said to Mulder and turned to the stairwell door and walked through not bothering to see if he was following.

"Scully." He said catching up to her.

She stopped on the stairs and turned to face him. "What?" she said in a flat tone.

"You seem, I don't know….. Angry at me." He said and waited for the rage to come out.

"I'm not angry, I just don't see why we need to pursue this any further." She said trying to keep her voice level.

"I really do think there is still a case here." He started to explain. She sighed and started walking down the stairs. "Don't you think that it's amazingly lucky for Weems to have fallen that far and only have a bruise to show for it?" he said following her.

"Yes, it is very lucky, but I still don't know why that's an X File." She shot at him.

"All I'm asking for is one day, just to see if Weems has any more lucky coincidences." He said reaching out and pulling her to a stop on the landing. She looked up at him and sighed. "I'll give you a back rub back at the hotel." He flirted.

She rolled her eyes at him. "One day." She turned and started walking down again. "And it better be the best massage you have ever given." She said, glad he couldn't see the smile on her face.

They reached the bottom of the steps and started walking to the front door, Mulder easily outpaced her with his long legs but as he reached the door he slowed down and put his hand in his pocket. "Oh." Shit! Where are my keys? He thought and turned to Scully to get her to stop the door before it closed, but he was too late. "Car keys," He explained as she rolled her eyes. "Must have lost them when I fell." What an idiot. He turned to the buzzer and rang Weems apartment to get let back in.

A gunshot rang out from inside the building. Scully grabbed her weapon as Mulder pulled on the door trying to get back in. it locked tight. He groaned and began to shake the door by the knob as Scully walked back to the buzz box. She was just about to start calling random numbers in the hopes of someone letting them in when Mulder gave it one last shake. The door popped open, they looked at each other, silently passing judgment on the old building and headed inside. He pulled out his gun and they ran for the stairs they had just walked down.

When they reached the third floor they left the stairwell and headed towards Weems apartment. They knew that the shot could have come from anywhere in the building, but who else had the mob after him?

When they arrived at the apartment they were presented with a rather strange scene. The front door was open, and a man was hanging from the ceiling fan by his foot. Scully walked over to the man to check for a pulse carefully stepping around the broken lamp and ironing board that were on the floor. While Mulder checked the apartment for anyone else.

She pressed her fingers into the hanging man's neck. Nothing, no pulse. She turned back to Mulder as he walked around the corner. "Anything?" She asked.

"Nothing, Weems is gone, there doesn't appear to be any damage in any other part of the place." He nodded to the hanging man. "Dead?" he asked.

She nodded. "I'll call the local PD." She said and pulled out her phone.

While she was on the phone Mulder looked around the apartment's living room, trying to piece together what had happened, they had only been gone for two minutes. There was a broken lamp on the floor with what looked like a bullet hole in it. A couch flipped over on its side. An ironing board on its side dented on one side, with the iron sitting not too far away burning a hole in the rug. He walked over to the switch and turned it off the last thing they needed now was a fire.

"Local PD were already on their way, they received multiple calls from the building occupants." She sighed. "I guess I should go down stairs and meet them."

He nodded and followed her out to the corridor, someone needed to stay at the scene to make sure nothing was touched. "I want the building searched for Weems." He said to her.

She shot him a look, she knew what needed to be done and didn't appreciate him telling her how to do her job. He didn't make any reply or acknowledge the look, his eyes had that faraway look that he sometimes got when an interesting puzzle was in front of him. There would be no pulling him out of this case now, she thought and headed downstairs.

When she reached the front door she was pleased to see that there were already cops waiting on the other side for her. She opened the door and pulled out her badge. "Special Agent Dana Scully, my partner's upstairs, we were the first on the scene."

"Officer Murphy, and this is Detective Bowers." Said the uniform clad man gesturing and the plain clothed man beside him.

"The scene is in the apartment of one Henry Weems, Small man maybe 5.6' Caucasian, with dark balding hair. He was most likely at the scene during the shooting and is probably still in the building. Officer Murphy I need you to set up a search team to find him, he is not considered a suspect and he isn't dangerous. Make sure to check all vacant apartments he has been known to hide out in them before. Detective Bowers, has the coroners team been notified?"

"Ah, yes ma'am they should be here shortly." Said the detective, feeling slightly intimidated by the petite red headed agent.

Scully nodded. "Send them up to apartment three thirteen when they arrive." She looked at both men who still stood in front of her. "Alright?" Both men shook themselves and went about the tasks they were given, she sighed and made her way up the stairs to the apartment for the third time today.

Mulder was standing in the doorway to the apartment with his head tilted to the side looking at the crime scene when she arrived. "Any ideas?" She asked him.

"A few, I want to wait for the coroner." He replied. They stood in silence at the door while they waited for the police team both pondering the unusual scene in front of them.

Before too long the coroner and his team arrived and entered the apartment. The officers wanted photos of everything before anything was touched. Mulder stood by the body watching the photographer work while Scully stood in the corner conversing with Officer Murphy who had followed the coroner's team in.

Detective Bowers walked up and introduced himself to Mulder before looking at the body. He was shocked, he knew the dead man. "That's Angie the Animal!"

"I'm sorry?" Asked Mulder.

"Angelo Bellini, He's Cutrona's enforcer. You think that Weems guy did that?" Asked the detective.

"No…. I very much doubt it." Said Mulder, but he wasn't really paying attention to the detective he was staring at the man known as the animal. His attention was brought back to the people in the room by the flash and sound of the photographer's camera. "So, do you get many of these?" he asked. Not really expecting an answer. Sure enough the photographer just gave him a look before continuing with his work.

Scully, who had just finished talking to the officer turned to face Mulder. "So, uh, they've searched the entire building, and there so sign of Henry Weems. I'm guessing that on the run." She said moving around to stand next to him.

"Our dead man's name is Angelo Bellini, aka Angie the Animal. He's an enforcer for the Cutrona family, and I don't think his visit was friendly." He said with a smile.

"You think Weems could have killed him in self-defence?" Asked Scully. She couldn't believe that.

"Skinny guy with no depth perception against a man nicknamed The Animal? I don't think so." He joked. She looked at him shaking her head. "You and I both know Weems didn't kill anybody, besides we were just gone for two minutes." He looked at the dead man. "This guy doesn't have a scratch on him. I'm thinking it was a heart attack."

Scully looked from the man to her partner, he was right, Bellini didn't look like he'd been touched. But how did he end up hanging by his shoelaces? "What the hell happened here, Mulder?" She asked.

He looked at her seriously. "Cause, and effect."

"Meaning?" she had no idea where this was going.

"Okay…. So, watch." He said and headed for the door. "So Bellini kicks down the door. WAHGA!" He said pretending to kick down an invisible door. "Poised to kill Weems right?" He said holding his fingers out like a mock gun.

Scully looked at him trying to keep her face serious in amongst the half a dozen law enforcement that had stopped what they were doing to watch Mulders impromptu enactment.

"But just as he's about to pull the trigger, a noise startles him. The buzzer! When I buzzed to be let back into the apartment. So when he does pull the trigger, his aim is off, right?" he checks to see if she is following his thinking. "And he hits the lamp which falls over and knocks over the ironing board, so as the bullet ricochets, Weems dives over the sofa. Now when Bellini goes for him, he trips over the ironing board, bounces off the chair, flips end over end and his shoe laces get caught in the fan. QED." He finished.

He and Scully stood there laughing at the ridiculousness of the explanation until Bellini's shoelace snapped and he came crashing down. They turned to watch him fall. "Cause and effect." Said Mulder. "Seemingly unrelated and unconnected events and occurrences that appear unrelated and random beforehand, but which seem to chain react in Henry Weems favour"

"Dumb luck?" Said Scully incredulously.

"Yeah, he seems to have tapped into it somehow, he won big at poker, he survived getting thrown off a skyscraper, and now this."

She shook her head it him, about to launch in to how preposterous his theory was, conveniently forgetting that it was, in fact, her theory first. When she saw the young boy from the flooded apartment walk up to the door to Weems apartment. "Hang on a second." She said to Mulder.

"Okay."

She quickly moved to intersect him before he saw the body. "Hey. Your names Ritchie right?"

"Yeah." He replied.

"I'm Dana" She reached out and shook the boy's hand.

"Hi" He said quietly.

"Why don't we, uh, head back to your room? I'm sure that's what your mom would want." She said turning him around and walking back towards his neighboring apartment.

They steered clear of the ruined kitchen and down a short hallway to his room. It was a typical boy's room, the floor littered with toys and clothes. Posters, mostly of baseball, dotted the walls next to baseball hats and participation ribbons. His curtains and bedspread were covered in logos for the Bears, next to the bed was an IV drip. He was obviously a very sick young man. She tucked him back in the bed and sat down next to him. "So I'm guessing you're a sports fan. Which one's your favorite?"

"Well, it use to be basketball. But now the Bulls suck, so I think maybe baseball." Said Ritchie.

"I like baseball too." Said Scully, thinking about the time that Mulder had taught her how to play. He had wrapped his arms around her and together they had hit baseballs for hours. That was before their first kiss. For a while during that night she was sure he was going to kiss her, the way he cuddled in close to her. His mouth inches away from her ear, his hand on her hip. But he didn't. She looked around the room and saw an interesting contraption set up in the corner of the room, it looked like one of those cause and effect machines that Weems had in his apartment only it was made out of brightly colored plastic. "Did Henry make this for you?" The boy nodded, and Scully reached out to ring the bell that set the mechanism off. It whirred through its different reactions, a bouncy ball sliding down a pole and a car racing around a track to culminate in a perfect three point shot with a mini basketball and hoop. "That's pretty neat."

"Yeah, he made it for me when I was in the hospital. He said….. It's cause everything happens for a reason. Only just sometimes it's hard for us to see. "

She had noticed the pill bottles near the IV, Prednisone, "You went to hospital because of you liver?" She asked knowing that Prednisone is used to treat inflammation and autoimmune disorders, and coupled with the IV full of fluids, she took an educated guess.

"It doesn't work so good." Explained Ritchie. "Police looking for Henry?" He asked.

"Yeah, they just want to talk to him. Do you have any idea where he might have gone?" She kept her voice soft, she didn't want to alarm the boy.

"Na uh, since I got sick he hardly ever goes out."

She nodded. "Well, you need to get some rest, I'm sure your mom doesn't want you out of bed right now." She said and got up to leave. "Be good Ritchie." She said at the door and headed back to Weems's apartment.

Mulder was standing by the front door as she walked up, he turned to her. "Boy give you any leads?"

"He knows nothing." They turned and headed out of the building. "Mulder, as to your theory, why would the worlds most supernaturally luck man work as a building superintendent? I mean, why doesn't he just run down to the Illinois State Lottery, enter and, you know, he'd win automatically?" She asked as he opened the door to the stairwell.

"I don't know Scully, maybe it doesn't work like that. Maybe it needs to be organic, in the moment." He said walking down the stairs

"In the moment." She said with disbelief.

"I don't have all the answers yet, I can't see the whole picture. I just know there's more to it." He explained.

"Well you know what I know," Said Scully as they exited the stairwell and headed to the front door, it was propped open with a piece of wood and two officers stood guard by the entry.

"What's that?" Asked Mulder, pulling out the keys he had swiped from Henrys tool box in his apartment. Henry must have picked them up when he was turning off the water in that woman's apartment.

"I know that there is a deep dish Chicago pizza with my name on it." She said with a smile.

"One pizza coming up." He opened her door to the car and she slid in.


	21. Love, Luck and Other Misfortunes C9

Feb 10 2:15 PM

Scully sat in the car seat feeling content and full, she and Mulder had shared a famous Deep dish pie at one of the local pizzerias. Now she was waiting for him out the front of the local library, he had said something about checking out old newspapers for stories about Weems. She thought they would have better luck through the usual channels so she had begun the ring around for a background check.

She started to get frustrated with the little information she was getting. She got out of the car to call their contact back at Quantico to see if he could give them any more information. She had just been put on hold while her friend did some digging when Mulder came up behind her. "Hey Scully." He said waving a folder that was probably filled with more info than she had collected. She shot him a look and pointed at her phone, letting him know that she didn't want to be disturbed. He waved an apology to her and got in the car. She sighed and checked her watch, she had been on hold for almost ten minutes now.

"Agent Scully?" A voice sounded out from her phone.

"Yes! What have you got?" she asked excitedly.

"Nothing." Came the reply

"Nothing….. How can you have nothing?" she said frustrated.

"Well, we know he was born in Chicago, his parents are deceased, natural causes, and he holds down a job. He has never even had a parking fine."

"That's it, got nothing else?" She asked.

"No, nothing. I'm sorry Agent Scully."

She sighed. "Okay. Thank you." She said and hung up. She opened the car door and sat down in the passenger seat, and waited for Mulder to fill her in on what he found.

Mulder was sitting in the driver seat looking at newspaper cuttings that were in the folder. "Henry Weems has no police record I assume?" He asked her.

"He has no record of any kind, Mulder. He doesn't earn enough in a year to file tax returns. He has no savings account, no checking account, no insurance. Doesn't even have a video rental card for that matter. He doesn't even have a drivers licence! I mean, it's like he is intentionally stayed off the radar. He's retired from the world." She said completely stumped.

"Ever since December 1989." Said Mulder handing her some newspaper clippings. "When a commuter jet crashed into Lake Michigan carrying 21 passengers. There was one survivor."

"Henry." She said looking at the clippings, they were stories on the crash and the lone survivor.

"Yeah, that's how he lost his eye." She turned to face him. "Snowy night, Christmas rush, he'd been bumped from three previous flights before they finally found a seat for him on that fateful plane. Guess what seat number." He said.

"Thirteen?" She replied, after all, this all had to do with luck didn't it.

"On flight seven." He finished.

"More good luck, you're saying?"

"Well call it good or bad, but maybe that's where it all started. What if a brand new Henry Weems was plucked from the wreckage? One whose fortunes had been irrevocably, permanently changed?" Scully was looking at him with her patented you're crazy face. Plane crashed didn't cause permanent good luck, she thought. He rushed to tell her. "Before 1989, Henry held down a job for nine years at a train yard, but after the accident, as you said it's like he disappeared of the face of the earth. He severed ties with all his friends and moved out to Melrose Park."

"Mulder, there are millions of reasons for that. Including survivor's guilt. I mean, what doesn't track for me is why Henry Weems would drop of the map just because he suddenly became incredibly lucky." His theory didn't make sense, if you were suddenly incredibly lucky, wouldn't you cash in on it?

"What doesn't track for me is why he's resurfaced after all these years. Why he's suddenly decided to use his luck in this way."

Just then her cell phone rang. "Scully." She said.

"Agent Scully its Officer Murphy, we got something you might want to take a look at."

She looked over to Mulder. "What's that Officer?"

"Can you get down to Felicity's Mini mart on 34th Avenue, there's been an accident and we think it might involve your guy." Said Murphy.

She cupped the phone with her hand and said to Mulder "34th Avenue Felicity's Mini mart." He nodded and took off in the direction of the avenue. "Can you tell me what happened?" She asked Murphy.

"Some young punk got hit by a truck, but there's some dispute over a winning instant lottery ticket."

"And how does this involve Weems?" She asked.

"Well according to the shop owner, a man fitting that description was the initial winner of the ticket."

"Is he still there?" Scully asked excitedly.

"No Ma'am." Came the reply.

"Okay, we'll be there as soon as we can." She said and hung up the phone. Mulder looked over at her curiously. "Apparently Henry won the lottery."


	22. Love, luck and Other Misfortunes C10

Feb 10 2000 4:10 PM

They arrived back at the Melrose Park Apartments, after coming to the conclusion that, Henry must have overheard Scully make her comment about winning the lottery. Scully sighed and shut the car door. It had been a long day, and all she wanted to do was go home and have a long bath. They had just come from the scene of a car accident where a young man had been hit by a truck after collecting the winning lottery ticket that Weems had thrown away. For the luckiest man in the world, he sure left a path of destruction in his wake, she thought.

She looked over at her partner as he smoothed back his dark hair. She didn't know much about luck, but she certainly felt like she had won the lottery with him. Every time she looked at him she could see the love in his eyes, it scared her sometimes. But he was so patient with her, waiting for her to be ready to move forward. She didn't deserve it. She shook her head to clear her thoughts, she needed to stay focused on the case. "So what are we looking for?" She asked him.

"Henry must have overheard you, which means he has a hiding place somewhere in the building that was overlooked." He said walking up to the still propped open front door.

He was thinking about luck, and what he would do if he was lucky like Henry. He didn't need money, his father had left him with plenty when he died. Maybe it wouldn't have taken so long to get Scully in his life if he had that kind of luck, or at least, he might not have made her life so miserable. If he had been lucky, he would have found her before she had been abducted. If he had been lucky, she never would have gotten cancer. He snuck a glance at her walking up the stairs next to her. She had that determined look in her eyes and carried herself with such strength. You would never guess from looking at her, how much hurt she had suffered from working with him. How much hurt he had inflicted on her, and yet she still stayed. Even more so now than ever before. He wondered what he would do in the future to drive her away, it would happen eventually. One day she would wake up and realize he wasn't worth saving. One day she would wake up and realize what she has lost because of him.

"What are you thinking about?" She asked, startling him out of his depression.

They had reached the third floor and he hadn't realized that he had just stopped on the landing. "Where Henry could have been hiding, it must have been close enough to overhear. Are there any vacant apartments on this floor?" He covered quickly.

"I don't think so, but we could check his apartment and Ritchie's." She said walking out into the hallway.

They walked down to Ritchie's apartment and knocked on the door, there was no answer. Mulder tried the door knob and found it unlocked. They walked inside, careful to be quiet in case the boy was sleeping. They check all the usual hiding places, closets and behind furniture. There didn't appear to be any place in the apartment that he could have hid without detection. After confirming with each other that he wasn't there the moved on to Weems's apartment.

Scully opened the door and Mulder stood back. "You go ahead Scully, I want to check out the hall." He said to her. She shrugged and walked into the apartment.

Mulder wandered along the hallway, he had walked a few feet when he spotted it. An old heating duct, it looked big enough for a person to crawl through, and it was only held in place by one rusted screw. He walked over to it and crouched down to look at it closer. When he pulled at it, the grate came away easily. He pulled out his flashlight and looked inside. There was definitely enough room in there for a person, especially one as small as Weems, to fit.

Scully walked out of the apartment. "Well, he's not at his place and he's not with Ritchie." She said looking at the vent that he was inspecting. "You think he hid in there?"

"He doesn't hide, he avoids." Corrected Mulder.

"Pretty damn well I would say." She replied. "That thing must go all over the building, Mulder." He could be anywhere, she thought. "I'll start with the roof." She said with a sigh. "If you want to start with the basement?"

The walked back to the stairs to start their search all over again, Scully headed up towards the roof and Mulder headed down. But as he reached the landing for the second floor, he thought about the vacant apartment he had fallen into earlier. He doubted that Weems would go back there, but he did appear to be a creature of habit. He stood there indecisively for a moment, oh what the hell, I'm already here. He thought and walked out into the hallway.

When he reached the apartment door he found it locked, he looked around to see if there was anyone watching and pulled out his lock picking kit. Technically he was committing a felony by entering a locked premises without a warrant. But that never seemed to bother him much. He made quick work of the door and stepped into the apartment.

It looked empty and quiet, there wasn't much for Henry to hide out in, but then he caught sight of another heating vent. He stared at it trying to see if he could make out what's behind it. There! A flash of movement. He quickly reached down and snatched off the grate revealing the man hiding behind it.

He grabbed Weems and pulled him out of the vent. "Hey. Hey! Watched the rough stuff!" Cried Weems.

"Henry Weems, you're a hard man to track down." Said Mulder pulling the small man up by the shoulders.

"I'm working here!" He shouted indignantly.

"Oh?" Said Mulder dragging him across the room to sit on an old table that the previous occupants had left behind. "You and I are going to have a talk. You just sit right here and don't move, okay?"

"Tough guy." Shot Weems when Mulder had released him.

Mulder smiled and pulled out his phone he had just hit the call button when he heard Weems say "Oh crap, not again." He barely had time to react when the door was flung open by a man wielding a gun. He dropped his phone and went for his weapon his fingers brushing the leather clip that held the gun to his belt when a shot rang out.

Everything happened in an instant. The bullet hit Henry in the chest and bounced off him ricocheting around the room. It clipped Mulder in the arm before coming to a halt in the shooters back.

Scully ran in the room behind the man with her gun raised. She had heard the shot from the stairwell and run to find them. She looked at the scene in front of her. Both men had their hands up, Mulders gun still firmly in his holster, and yet the man on the floor clearly had a gunshot wound in his back.

She watched as Weems reached into his chest pocked and pulled out a pair of pliers with a noticeable dent in the handle. "What on earth happened here?" She asked before noticing Mulders arm was hurt. "Oh Mulder, your bleeding." She said rushing over to him.

"I'm fine, check on him." Said Mulder gesturing to the man on the floor. She moved back to the shooter and applied pressure to the wound while Mulder retrieved his phone and dialed 911.

It took less than ten minutes for the EMT's to reach them, as soon as they took over from Scully she moved to check on her partner. The bullet had grazed his arm leaving a nice deep cut. "You're going to need stitches."

He let out a light chuckle. "It never feels like we are getting anywhere with a case unless one of us ends up in hospital." He said.

Scully rolled her eyes, trust him to make jokes when he's been hurt. The EMT's had finished putting the shooter on to a gurney and were preparing to head back to the ambulance. "Excuse me Agent Mulder, if you think you can walk we'd like to get you in the ambulance now." Said one of the EMT's, he turned to Scully. "Will you be riding along?"

Scully opened her mouth to answer. "No." Said Mulder hurriedly. "He is." He pointed at Henry who had been sitting on the table staring at his pliers for the past ten minutes. Scully looked up at her partner furious. "I need you to do something for me Scully." Explained Mulder.

"Okay," She said calming down, it must be important if he didn't want her to take care of Weems. "I'll meet you at the hospital, what do you need?"

"Can you please pick me up a packet of playing cards?" Said Mulder handing her the car keys.

"Cards? Mulder, you want me to pick up cards?" She was getting angry again.

"Yes, can you please just do it Scully?" Said Mulder, flashing her his best wounded puppy dog eyes.

She shook her head, speechless, and threw her hands up. "Fine." She said and walked out of the room.

She couldn't believe him! He had just been shot and he wants to play cards? Why couldn't he just tell her what he was thinking? Why did it always have to be such a mystery? If he thought that his half formed ideas were going to sound any crazier than his fully formed theories, she had news for him.

She stomped down the stairs feeling the rage set into her bones. That's it! If he doesn't start sharing with me I am never going to sleep with him again, she thought. How did he always manage to work her up like this? She had never met anyone in her entire life who made her this angry, not even Bill or her Dad, or Daniel. She had spent so many years working on her carefully constructed walls, if she built them high enough no one could ever make her cry. But he just breezed over them like they were made of paper. She loved that he made her feel passionate, maybe for the first time ever in her life. But was it worth the pain and frustration that went with it?

Mulder watched her storm out, hoping that she would calm down before they met up at the hospital. It wasn't that he meant to upset her, he just didn't like to explain his theories until they could be proven. Especially to her, she was so smart and analytical. He loved how she made him work for every idea he had. He had hoped that after seven years of working together, she would be a little more of a believer, especially after everything that they had gone through. But then again, how would he stay grounded if she did?

But things were different now, it was almost like he was reliving their first year working together. But there was so much more pressure now, he knew who Scully the person was. Who Scully the FBI Agent was, but he had no idea who Scully the girlfriend was. If he could even call her that. If that even incumbused what they were to each other. It was so undefinable. He never knew if he should be focusing on that, or on their work. Their last case together had gone so well, blending seamlessly. Why wasn't this one?

He shook his head ruefully and looked at Henry. "Come on, let's take a ride."


	23. Love, luck and other Misfortunes C11

Hi everyone, thanks so much for your patience I'm home again now and burning up my keyboard. Anyway, I hope your loving the story, more to come.

xo Angelsong

Feb 10 2000 5:15 PM

Mulder was feeling a little loopy from the pain killers that the doctors had given him before stitching up his wound. He watched the nurse wrap the bandage around his arm with a slight smile on his face.

Henry was sitting on the bed opposite him, watching them clean him up. "Does it hurt?" He asked Mulder.

"Stings a bit." He confessed. "But I'll live." He gingerly put on his now ruined dress shirt and looked up to see Scully approaching, she didn't look as angry as she had when she left but, she definitely didn't look pleased. "Come over here Henry, I want to try something." He said as she walked up and placed the brand new playing cards in his hand.

"What's that about?" Asked Henry looking at the cards.

"I haven't a clue." Said Scully annoyance still tinged her voice.

Mulder pulled the cards out of the packet and started to shuffle. Scully noticed with mild interest that he seemed quite comfortable with cards in his hands, and wondered if he played often.

He finished shuffling and arranged the cards into a neat pile. He then cut the deck showing the bottom card he had just pulled. "Nine of clubs, you go." He said and held out the stack for Henry to cut.

"What for?" Asked Henry.

"I think you know." Replied Mulder.

Henry reached out and cut the deck, showing the bottom card he pulled, it was the ten of clubs.

"Uh, you win." Said Mulder "Double or nothing." Scully looked at Mulder still unsure what he was trying to prove. But Mulder just shuffled the cards and cut the deck again. This time he pulled the king of diamonds. "Whoo hoo, tough to beat." He said and held out the stack to the small man. Henry cut the deck, he pulled the ace of spades. "You win again." said Mulder.

"Mulder, what does that prove?" Asked Scully.

"I think it proves that if we played this ten thousand times in a row, he would win ten thousand times in a row. He's incapable of losing." He said to her. Scully looked away and tried to remind herself that he was probably on pain pills. "How does it feel to be the luckiest man in the universe Henry?" He asked.

"It's a nightmare. You have no idea." Said Henry, putting his head down.

"No, no I do." Replied Mulder. "Cause when you get lucky, really, really lucky, people around you tend to suffer, id that right?"

"I think it's a balance thing." Explained Henry. "Something good happens to me, and everybody else has to take it in the keister."

"So you've stayed close to home mostly, kept a low profile. But recently you've been venturing out a little further. You played poker with those mobsters." Said Mulder.

"I figured they could stand the trimming. Bunch of goombah jerks. They got issues, man."

Scully gave Henry a look, they got issues? She thought.

"You don't mind so much if a few criminals get hurt." Said Mulder. "But then you went and played the lottery. I don't…."

"I knew I shouldn't have done that!" Admonished Henry. "I needed the money." He explained.

"For what?" Asked Mulder.

"For Ritchie, right?" Answered Scully. She could tell how much the man cared about him.

Henry sat back down on the bed opposite Mulder his head heavy. "It's the complications from his Hepatitis. He's on every donor list they got, but he's got a rare blood type, B Negative. And he's CN… Something."

"CMV negative. Cytomegalovirus." Corrected Scully. Which meant that he could only receive donations from other CMV negative donors.

"There's no way they're going to find a donor in time." Said Henry.

Mulder looked at Scully to see if what he was saying was true, she looked down. It hurt her to think that the boy they met today wasn't going to be around for much longer.

"There's a treatment program in England. A hundred grand gets him in. it's experimental, but it's the best chance he's got now." Said Henry. "Am I under arrest?"

"No." Said Mulder shaking his head.

"However you will need protection from Cutrona and his men." Added Scully.

Henry reached out to the stack of cards Mulder still held in his hand and pulled out the king of hearts. "I'd say they need protection from me." He said and walked out of the room.

"I'm sorry Mulder but that was utterly irresponsible." Said Scully. "You're feeding the delusions of a man who has had three attempts made on his life. You're supposed to be talking him into protective custody, not out of it."

"I'd agree with you, if I thought his life was in danger. As it is he's doing a better job on Cutrona's organization than the FBI. I'm wondering if we shouldn't make him an honorary agent." Joked Mulder.

"Mulder, you are putting an astounding amount of faith in coincidence and luck. Essentially you're betting a mans life on it. And even if you believe in so called lucky streaks, you have to know they all eventually end." She said and reached out to the deck of cards. She cut the deck and flipped over the ace of hearts. She scoffed. "Luckiest man in the world? Hell Mulder, I just beat him."

Mulder sat there for a second thinking about what she had said and done. Then he stood up and grabbed his coat sailing his arm over Scully as he walked past. "Mulder?" She called after him.

"Come on Scully." He said jogging to the door.

She had to run to keep up with him as they made their way out of the hospital. But even still she was long behind him when he reached the front doors.

"Henry!" He called out as he ran towards the man, he could see one of Cutrona's men walking toward him. If his luck had truly run out, he would never making it in time.

Henry turned when he heard Mulder call his name and saw the mobster. He stepped out onto the road to create some distance between him and the crook when. Splat. He was hit by a truck.

Mulder ran down to the road and checked Henrys pulse. The force of the impact with the truck had popped out his prosthetic eye. Scully ran up behind him, out of breath. "Is he alive?" She asked him.

"He has a pulse." Confirmed Mulder. Stepping out of the way while doctors swarmed around Henry checking his vitals.

After the doctors had taken Henry back inside Mulder and Scully headed to the Cafeteria for some coffee. It would be a while before they heard anything so they might as well grab a bite to eat.

As they sat down to eat she couldn't help but say. "I hope your happy now."

"What's that supposed to mean?" He asked her.

"Well, not five minutes before he ends up in hospital you had him convinced he was the luckiest man in the world." She said and took a bite of her sandwich.

"I didn't convince Henry of anything, he already knew what he was." Shot Mulder. Why couldn't she just believe him, it's not like he didn't have any evidence. Look at everything that had happened in the last twenty four hours.

Scully rolled her eyes. "You can't measure luck, it doesn't exist."

"So do you subscribe to fate then? That some things are just meant to be?"

She pondered on that for a moment. She did believe in fate, at least she used to. She believed that God had a plan for everyone, and that there were signs along the way to help you on your journey. That you would eventually find your true happiness.

But so much bad had happened, her father passing, her mother and brother estranged, Missy, her cancer. I can't have kids. She quickly squashed that last thought. Dwelling on that only made her sad, and sadness was not helpful. "I don't know, maybe?" She stood up, leaving half her sandwich still sitting on the table. "I'm going to go check on Henry." She said and hurried away.

Mulder watched her walk away, wondering what she had been thinking about. He had seen the sadness flash behind her eyes, he knew he was responsible for that sadness. If she had never been assigned to the X files, if she had never met him, she would be happy. Probably married with beautiful redheaded babies. He could never give back what was taken from her. He should be staying away from her, not thinking about inviting her over for a late night sleep over.

He dropped his sandwich back on the plate, suddenly he wasn't hungry. He sat for a moment, figuring out what to do next, he knew she would need some space. So he sat there for the next twenty minutes, not eating, just watching the people come and go. Eventually he checked his watch and got up. Time to get back to it, he thought and made his way to the Emergency ward that housed Henry.

He saw her as soon as he walked in, she was closing the curtains around Henry's bed. "How's he doing?" he asked.

"Well, he's got a bruised rib and a black eye. It certainly could have been worse." She said looking up at him. "And don't tell me he just got lucky." She joked, feeling more like herself again.

"Far from it." Admitted Mulder. "Maybe what you said about streaks is right. Looks like his has just about run its course."

"Well, I don't mean to make light of his misfortune, but it may have knocked some sense into his head. He's agreed to testify against Cutrona."

"Alright, I'll make the calls." Said Mulder, stepping away and pulling out his phone.

His first call was to the Chicago field office, informing them that he and Scully had secured Weems's testimony and he needed a protection detail to meet him at the hospital.

His second was to their boss, AD Skinner. To let him know that they would be overnighting in Chicago, or at the very least taking a late night flight home. Either way, they were not expected in the office until tomorrow afternoon.

"We're all set here." He said coming up to Scully. "As soon as the field office agent come to relive us, we can go."

She nodded and walked over to Henry to tell him the news. Suddenly the Emergency ward was a hive of activity, doctors and nurses rushing around to prep a bed. He moved over to Scully to see if she knew what was going on.

She listened carefully to what the doctors and nurses were calling out to each other, based on the medicines they were preparing, someone had gone into liver or kidney failure. She knew when someone came into emergency exhibiting organ failure they had to move fast.

"What's the ETA?" Asked a Doctor to a Nurse.

"Seven minutes, they're coming from Melrose Park." The Nurse replied.

Mulder and Scully looked at each other, they couldn't be talking about Ritchie?

"Excuse me?" Called Mulder, "The patient who's coming in, it wouldn't be a little boy, would it? About twelve years old? Named Ritchie?"

The Nurse stopped what she was doing and looked Mulder up and down, he quickly pulled out his badge. She nodded. "Richard Lupone. He's exhibiting signs of liver failure. Excuse me." She quickly went back to work.

Mulder stood dumbfounded for a minute, what are the odds? Henry had overheard the nurse and was trying to get up, he needed to be there for the boy. Scully moved to calm him. "Henry, it's going to be okay, just stay calm."

It was all she could do to keep him in his bed until Ritchie arrived. It was rather shocking to see the boy, jaundice had set in and even his eyes had a yellow tint to them. Henry and the agents were pushed to one side while the doctors and nurses worked on the boy.

Henry looked around. "Where's Maggie? Where's his mother?" He panicked.

"I'm sure she's on her way." Calmed Mulder. "Let's go and see if we can find her." He said trying to pull Henry away.

"No, I need to stay with him." Said Henry determinedly.

Scully looked at Mulder. "Go, find Maggie, I will stay with him."

Mulder nodded and walked out of the room. He checked the waiting room, and the front of the hospital. There was no sign of her, he walked up to the cafeteria, and down to the gift shop, nothing.

He felt his phone buzz and quickly answered it. Hoping that it was Scully telling him that she was here. "Mulder."

"Mulder, it's me. Any sign of her?" Asked Scully.

He sighed. "No, nothing."

"Well, you better get up here, they stabilized Ritchie and have moved him into a private room."

He got the directions to the room and headed up to meet them. Scully was waiting for him in the hallway.

"Did you find her?" She asked.

"No." he replied.

She nodded. "I sent a couple uniforms to her house to see if she was there, they just called in, there was no sign of her at home and there was no sign of forced entry. Nothing looked touched."

"Do you think Cutrona could have taken her?" He asked.

"I think it's entirely possible, if he found out that Henry was testifying." She said.

"Which means we have a rat in the field office." Said Mulder sighing.

"It's not good." She responded and they walked into the room.

Ritchie was hooked up to the monitor, and had a breathing tube inserted. He looked so small and weak. Henry stood by the bed. He turned as they entered.

"Did you find her?" He asked.

"No." Said Scully softly.

"You know Cutrona took her. He did it to keep me from testifying." Said Henry.

"He's who we are focused on. But there's no sign of a kidnapping, there's no ransom note." Replied Mulder.

Henry shook his head. "He's too smart for that."

"Which makes it very hard for us to obtain a search warrant." Explained Mulder.

"We'll get one though." Added Scully.

"When?" Asked Henry. "Tomorrow? Next week?" The agents looked down cast. There was little they could do right now. "Could someone sit with him at least?" Asked Henry walking towards the door.

"Hold up Henry." Said Mulder, putting his arm out to stop him. "Henry, what if? What if what I said before wasn't true? That your luck hasn't changed? Maybe all this is happening for a reason." He said thinking about the conversation he had with Scully about fate.

"So you're saying that Maggie getting taken is a _good_ thing?" Scoffed Henry.

"No, I'm saying what looks like it might be bad luck may not be bad luck, but we can't tell yet. We're not in that position. We can't see the forest for the trees." He said, realization washing over him.

Henry sighed and went to put on his jacket. It ripped at the sleeve. He groaned frustrated and slung it over his shoulder. Stomping out of the children's ward.

They sighed and moved closer to the boy. "How is he?" Asked Mulder.

"Not good." Replied Scully. "If we don't find a donor in the next few hours….." She trailed off not wanting to think about the smart young boy who loved baseball dying in a hospital bed.

"Scully, what if everybody that becomes involved in Henry Weems life somehow becomes an integral part of his luck, including you and I?"

"Mulder, you're speaking as if we're all trapped in one of those contraptions he builds." He nodded and walked to the door. "What are you doing?" she called after him.

"Looking for Maggie Lupone." He said and walked out the door. He walked over to the nurse's station and grabbed a copy of the phone book off the table. Scully watched with interest as he walked back into Ritchie's room.

"Luck, is the overreaching force in this investigation." He said to her, flipping open to the yellow pages. "I say we roll with it." He looked into her eyes reaching his hand up above his head. Without looking he brought his finger down onto an ad, MUHAYMIN DAYCARE. "Yeah…. Let's call that a dry run."

"Yeah." Scully scoffed

He flipped to another page and slammed his finger down. GRAYSON LINENS, where had he heard that name before? "This is it!" He cried.

"How do you know that?" She asked.

"Because Grayson linen service was the company who's freshly washed sheets and towels our friend Henry fell into last night."

"So? Mulder that doesn't prove anything."

He looked into her eyes, he just needed her to believe him. "This means something Scully. Please, just trust me."

She looked back into his eyes, she could see the need behind them. "Alright." She sighed, "Well it's as good a lead as any. Go, I'll stay with Ritchie."

He nodded at her, all he wanted to do in that moment was pull her into his arms and kiss her. But they were working, so he reached out and squeezed her arm, and walked away.

He rushed down to his car, calling the Chicago dispatchers on the way. A team of police were set to meet him at Grayson's Linen Service when he arrived.

They were waiting out the front for him. The shop front looked quiet, one woman standing by the front counter.

"Who's in charge here?" He called to the officers.

Officer Murphy stepped up to him. "I am sir. What do you want us to do?"

Mulder thought for a second. "Okay, on my mark we are going to swarm the building, I want four men around the back to watch for fire exits. If Cutrona's men are in there they will be armed so use extreme caution. Do not break the line and watch your partners back. Any questions?"

The men shook their heads and Murphy picked out the officers for the back of the building.

"Okay." Said Mulder. "As soon as they are in position, we breach."

They waited for the clear from the officers, and as soon as it came. There were in the building. Mulder walked up to the woman behind the counter, who looked scared out of her wits. "Where's Cutrona?" He asked her. She pointed to a door nearby that said Basement.

He nodded and gestured to the woman to get out of the building. Just then there was a crack of electricity, and all of the lights started going haywire. Some of the officers jumped and flung their guns around looking for danger.

"Keep it together!" Shouted Mulder. And gestured them towards the basement door.

The scene in behind the door was a surprising one. Henry and Maggie stood embracing in the center of the room, next to them was Cutrona. He was lying limply in a half empty washing cart. A heavy metal pulley over his face. They rushed down the stairs to find another man lying face down near a caged area at the back of the room.

One officer checked Cutrona's pulse while two more went to check on the other man, and turn off the power. Both men were dead.

"What happened?" Asked Mulder, grabbing Henry by the shoulders.

"I don't know, I, I came here to save Maggie and the guy got electrocuted. And then Cutrona got hit in the face when the pulley snapped." Said Henry, still holding on to Maggie's hand.

"They strung him up." Said Maggie. "Cutrona and his goon, they were going to kill Henry. But then, I don't know, it all happened so fast."

Mulder walked over to examine Cutrona, it was clear that the pulley to the head had killed him. He looked down at Cutrona's wrist, he wore a medical bracelet. Mulder flipped it over _B Neg_ it read. It couldn't be, he thought. He reached into the man's coat pocket and pulled out his wallet, flipping through the cards he came across the one he was looking for. _Organ donor._ "Get an ambulance here right now. This man is a donor." He called to officer Murphy.

"Ritchie!" Cried Maggie. "Is he okay?"

"He will be." Replied Mulder.


	24. Love, luck and other Misfortunes C12

Feb 10 2000 11:00 PM

They were standing outside Ritchie's hospital room. He had come out of surgery not long ago and was just waking up. Maggie was in with him. Mulder, Scully and Henry watched as she stroked his hair.

"What are the odds for Cutrona being a perfect match? Thousand to one? Million to one?" Asked Mulder.

"Maybe higher." Replied Scully. "Maybe everything does happen for a reason, whether we see it or not." She smiled at Henry and her partner.

Henry was looking at Maggie, she had turned and was smiling to him through the window. "Maybe your luck is changing." Said Mulder, patting the man on the back.

Henry smiled. "Maybe." He said and walked in to join the people he thought of as his family.

Mulder and Scully stayed there a while watching the man. Eventually they turned to leave.

"So Scully, do you believe in fate now?" Asked Mulder.

She smiled at him as they waited for the elevator. "You know what, I think I do. So what now?"

"Well, our bags are still at the airport check in, we could catch the red eye home. If you want?" He said.

She sighed, he still hadn't asked her to stay. Well, maybe it just wasn't meant to be, she thought as they hopped into the elevator. "Sounds good."

They drifted into one of their uncomfortable silences that lasted the whole way to the airport. After she had purchased the tickets they sat in a café drinking coffee while they waited for their flight. Mulder was chewing on a plastic stirrer, he had been debating the entire drive whether or not to ask her to stay with him tonight. He knew that after a case she was usually withdrawn for a day or two, especially one involving kids. But this one seemed to have a happy ending, so few of them did. Then there was her brother, he didn't know how she would feel about him staying at her place alone. She hadn't really talked to him about how Charlie was coping, other than to express her annoyance. Perhaps he should let her be, let her look after him. But there was something in her eyes, something that said to him that she missed him. He took a deep breath. "So, Scully, it's going to be very late when we get back to Washington. I thought, if you didn't want to wake Charlie, you could maybe spend the night at my place?"

She smiled at him. Finally, she thought. She had begun to think that he was losing interest in her. After all, they hadn't spent much time together since Charlie moved in, and it was clear that their relationship was purely physical. Logically it made sense for him to move on. But he had asked her, and Charlie thought she was going to be away until tomorrow, so he wasn't expecting her home. "Yes, I would like that. Besides, you still owe me a backrub."

He smiled, relived that he had said the right thing. Overhead the boarding call for their plane called out. They got up and headed for the terminal.


	25. Love, luck and other Misfortunes C13

**Hi all, thanks for sticking with me. I love this story so much it invades my dreams, and it will be continuing for a long time. I know we are all frustrated with Sculders denial about their relationship. But, come on! They took seven seasons to get there, when its comes to love, this pair do not move fast.**

 **Shout outs to all my wonderful reviewers, you guys are the highlight of my day, (and the reason I check my emails hourly). Please keep reviewing, it truly helps guide me on my story.**

 **xo Angelsong**

Feb 11 2000 10:45 AM

Scully awoke to the scent of bacon and eggs cooking. She smiled and stretched out her body, taking a moment to soak in the scent of Mulder in the bed. She got up, but rather than pull out her clothes from her overnight bag. She found his oxford tee, sitting in a pile of clean laundry. It was her favorite thing to wear, she'd contemplated putting it into her bag to take home on more than one occasion. But she had resisted, that was something a girl in love does. And she was not in love.

She padded out barefoot to the kitchen to see Mulder in a pair of old sweats trying pitifully to avoid the spitting bacon fat. "You should wear a shirt when you cook bacon." She suggested.

"Ah, but then you wouldn't get to see all this." He replied, using the spatula to show off his chest and stomach.

She wrinkled her nose at him. "I know, why do you think I suggested it." She teased.

He jumped at her and pretended to smack her with the spatula. She jumped out of the way sticking her tongue out at him. He dropped the spatula and grabbed her with both arms pulling her into a big bear hug. "You're going to burn the bacon." She said, her voice muffled by his chest.

"Well we can't have that." He replied, picking her up and depositing her on one of the bar stools. She laughed, she had missed this. Staying at his place felt like another world. A world where they weren't running for their lives most of the time, or bored out of their minds the rest of the time. It was a place where she didn't need to think logically, just feel freely. A place free from X Files, and family drama. It was just the two of them, perfect. But she knew the second she walked out of that door reality would come crashing down on her.

But that was a problem for later, right now she had a half-naked Mulder cooking her breakfast. She reached across the bench for a cup of coffee he had already made her and watched him work.

That day they ate at the breakfast bar, coffee and orange juice, bacon, eggs and toast. Everything cooked to perfection. There was lots of joking and laughter, fighting over who was going to do the dishes. Scully lecturing Mulder on the mess he had made cooking. But when the meal was over and the kitchen was clean, it was time to get ready to face reality again. They were due back in the office by 1:00 PM though neither one of them wanted to go in, it was Friday, if they could get out of lodging their report until Monday, they could spend the whole weekend together.

But there was paperwork to do, and Scully needed to get back to her brother, so they sadly began to gather up their things and get ready for work. It didn't take them very long, both working around each other's morning rituals seamlessly. When she was ready she grabbed her bag and walked over to Mulder, who was fussing with his tie. She took over, folding it into a perfect Windsor knot. When she was done she grabbed it and pulled him down to meet her lips. She kissed him thoroughly and walked to the door. Turning around as she opened the door she took one wistful look back at the place and she could truly be herself in, and the man who would act like a different person when he next saw her, and then walked away.

Mulder stood in the living room watching her leave. Even though he would see her in an hour, he missed her. The woman he saw at work was very different, she had her armour firmly in place. She didn't know what she wanted. When they were together here, it felt to him like the rest of the world melted away. All of their problems, all of the pain. He sighed and went hunting for his shoes, he had kicked them off somewhere last night and one had ended up under the sofa, the other was by the front door.

When he was ready he headed out for work, spending the twenty minute car ride reliving all of the precious moments he had shared with her. He was surprised when he got to work to find she hadn't arrived yet. She must have gone home first, he thought and settled down at his desk and turned in his computer.

He had just started writing up his report when she walked in, two coffees in hand. She nodded to him. "Afternoon Mulder. Coffee?"

There she was, professional Scully, he wanted to leap out from behind his desk and pull her into his arms. "Afternoon Scully, thank you."

They sat there in silence writing up their individual reports, occasionally asking each other a question about the case. By three o'clock, they were ready to present the reports to Skinner. Mulder picked up the phone and called his office informing the receptionist that they were ready to see him.

The rest of their afternoon went as expected, Skinner reading over the report, questioning them on luck. It didn't really matter how the agents had done it, they had removed a major mob boss from Chicago and this was a report Skinner was happy to sign off on. After Skinner had dismissed them they pottered around the office, Scully collating the information for their expense report, Mulder not really helping.

At five o'clock she stood up from her desk, stretching out her neck. "See you Monday." She said to him.

He looked over to where she was standing. "Yeah, see you Scully."

There was so much that was still unsaid between them, they could see it in each other's eyes. The burning desire for the other, which went so much deeper than physical. Scully grabbed her coat and bag and walked out. She was not looking forward to going home tonight. She needed to have a talk to her brother, but she didn't want to hurt him.

She had gone over what she wanted to say to him in her head in the car ride home. Making sure that what she said made sense, but that all went out the window when she got in the door.

He was sitting on her couch with a pair of reading glasses on, reading the newspaper. "Hey Charlie," She said putting down her briefcase and taking off her coat.

"Jason rang me last night." He said closing the paper and taking off his glasses.

She walked over to the couch and sat down next to him. "What did he want?" she asked quietly, she knew this could be really bad, or maybe he wanted Charlie back?

"He wants to buy me out of the cottage. $50,000." Said Charlie with a sigh.

$50,000? Thought Scully, the cottage was worth at least $200,000 it was in New York for God's sake. "What did you say?" She asked.

"I said…. Yes." He said quietly. He could see the argument forming in his sister's mind. "I just want it done, _Vic_ has already moved in with him." He shook his head with a look of disgust. "They put my things in storage."

Scully couldn't believe what Charlie was telling her. Jason was like a brother to her, how could he treat Charlie so poorly? They hadn't even been separated for a month yet and he already has his new boy living with him? She looked into her brothers eyes, she could see the pain and shame in them. "Whatever you need little brother, I am here for you." She said pulling him in for a hug.

"Thanks Dana, I'm okay, I just want to get back to reality, you know? I rang work and organized a transfer to here and I've started looking for my own place." He said holding up the paper.

"No, you stay here as long as you need." She replied taking the paper off of him. She was so angry at Jason, it took all her will power not to jump in her car and drive up to New York to give him a piece of her mind. She knew that her mood wouldn't help Charlie. "I'm going to go and get some dinner." She said jumping up off the couch. "What do you feel like? Chinese?"

Charlie shrugged. "I don't mind, I'm not really hungry." He looked like he had been crying a lot that day, and he wasn't done.

"Okay, well you have to eat. I'll be home soon okay?" She gathered up her keys and cell phone and walked out of the house. When she got into her car she sat for a minute and cried. When she pulled herself back together she flipped open her cell phone and hit her number one speed dial. He answered almost immediately.

"Mulder."

"Mulder….. It's me." She sounded hoarse, and her breath hitched a little.

"Scully. What's wrong? Are you okay?" He asked panicked.

"I'm fine, but it looks like Charlie will be staying with me for a while longer." She said trying to keep her voice even.

"What happened?" Even through the phone he expressed so much compassion, she couldn't help herself. She blurted out everything that Charlie had told her. When she was done he asked her. "Are you at home right now? Where's Charlie?"

"He's in the apartment, I'm sitting in my car. I'm supposed to be getting Chinese food, but I haven't left yet." She shook her head, it was ridiculous of her to get this worked up. She was stronger than this.

"Okay, Scully go back upstairs, Charlie needs you with him right now. I'll be there soon."

She was about to argue but he had already hung up. She sat for a moment, composing herself, and after checking her makeup in the rear view mirror she got out of the car. She walked upstairs to her apartment, Charlie was still sitting on the couch. He didn't look like he had moved since she left. She walked over to him and sat down wrapping her arms around him.

"Where's the food." He mumbled. She just shook her head and held him, they stayed that way for twenty minutes, until Mulder let himself in to the apartment with his keys carrying bags of Chinese food.

"Hey Scullys'." He called as he walked in. He took the food over to Scully's dining room table and sat it down, then he headed for the kitchen to get out the plates and cutlery. She disentangled herself from her brother and walked over to help. Thank you she mouthed to him. He gave her a crooked smile, and shrugged as if to say that's what I'm here for. Before pulling out a couple of wine glasses from the cupboard.

Charlie had walked up behind them while they were working in the kitchen, he watched the way they moved together. They shifted around each other like dancers, never touching but always close enough that either could reach out a hand to the other. Every so often they would catch each other's eyes. He smiled at them, happy for his sister, God knows she deserves some happiness in her life. He cleared his throat, and they stopped to look at him. "Can I have a glass of that?" He said pointing at the wine Mulder was pouring.

Mulder handed him a glass. "So Scully tells me you've applied for a transfer, when do you start and the D.C office?" he asked, his voice giving away no knowledge that he knew any of the redheads troubles.

"Next week, they're going to start me off easy, mostly paralegal work." He said reassuring his sister that he wouldn't be taking on too much too quickly.

"Well that will be a good way to familiarize yourself with the office." She said.

Before too long they were sitting around the table laughing at Mulder, who was regaling Charlie with some of their more bizarre cases. Empty Chinese food boxes littered the table along with the two empty wine bottles they had consumed. Mulder looked up at the clock hanging on the wall, 11:30 it read. "I should be going." He said pulling himself out of the chair. His job for the night was done, both the Scully siblings seemed happy. He knew how much it helped to take your mind off your problems, even just for a little while.

"I'll walk you out." Said Scully rising from the table. She looked at Charlie.

"You two go, I'll take care of the dishes." He said stacking their plates together.

They walked down to Mulder's car, Charlie watched from the living room window as they came to a stop by the car door.

"Thank you for tonight." Said Scully, looking shyly up into Mulder's eyes. "I didn't realize how much I needed you here."

He shrugged. "I'm happy to help, besides it's nice to know that you have one brother who doesn't hate me." He joked,

She smiled thinking about how much Bill disliked her partner, bet he'd hate this she thought, and tilted her face up towards his. He leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on her lips.

They broke apart and smiled at each other. "Well, goodnight Scully." He said brushing her hair back from her face.

"Night Mulder." She replied, turning and heading up to her apartment.

Charlie quickly moved away from the window when he saw his sister turn around and by the time she had walked back upstairs he was busy in the kitchen with the dishes. She wandered over to him, a half smile still playing on her lips. "Need help?" she asked him.

"Sure." He replied moving aside to let her start drying the dishes. "So, Mulder. He's a really nice guy."

"Yeah, it was nice of him to come over like that." She replied.

"How long have you been together?" He asked casually.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "What do you mean?" she asked.

He laughed at her and turned to face her. "You can drop the act, even if I hadn't seen you kissing out the front."

Red flushed her cheeks. That spying little rat! She thought. "Charlie –"

He cut her off. "Even if I hadn't seen that, I knew, I knew there was something going on the first time I met him. And I was hungover and could hardly see."

"You could really tell?" She asked in a small voice, they had been so careful, what if the people at work knew? They would split them up.

Charlie could see the worry in his sister's eyes. There was probably a reason they were keeping it secret he thought. He put his arms around her shoulders and stared at her until she made eye contact. "I could tell because I know you, don't worry. No one will hear it from me."

"I wanted to tell you, but with everything going on…" she trailed off.

"Dana, its okay for you to be happy when I'm sad. You have got to stop being such a martyr." When would she let go? She has given up so much of her life to make others happy, why did she need to please their parents so much. "You need to let yourself have feelings."

She broke away from him. He was bringing up too many truths that she wasn't ready to face yet. She walked over to her half empty glass of wine and took a sip.

Charlie stopped with the dishes and moved over to the dining room next to his sister. "So how long have you two been seeing each other?"

"Not long." She replied sitting down. "About a month and a half."

He was surprised, the way they acted around each other he was expecting years. He wouldn't have blamed her for not telling him, after all he kept Jason a secret for two years before anyone but Missy knew. "But you've been partners for seven years." He said working it out in his head. "Why did you wait so long?"

She rolled her eyes at him. "Because the timing didn't work out, because of other people, because we work together. What do you want from me Charlie?" how was this any of your business? She asked silently.

"You just seem like you've been together longer than that is all." He explained.

"Yeah, well we haven't." She said taking another sip from her wine.

"Have you told him you love him yet?" He asked cheekily.

"Charlie!" She cried staring at him.

"Well, you obviously do, so I had to ask." He replied matching her stare.

"No I don't, it's far too new to think about things like that." She argued.

"Fine but tell me you have at least slept together?" He stared at her watching her turn a bright shade of red. "You have! Tell me everything!" He said resting his head on his hand.

"NO! God, look at you, anyone would think your one of my girlfriends not my brother." She was mortified with this entire conversation. All she wanted to do was crawl into a hole and cover herself over.

"Ooh that's a good point, does Ellen know?" He asked enjoying watching her squirm.

"No one knows." She shot.

He laughed. "She is going to be pissed when she finds out you told me first."

"I didn't tell you, you spied on me like we were in high school." She spat at him seething.

"Well you snuck around like you were in school." He retorted.

"Can you please not tease me about this Charlie? It's confusing enough as it is." She begged.

He could see that she couldn't take much more of his taunting. He smiled at her. "I'm happy for you Dana, whatever this thing with Mulder is, it obviously makes you very happy."

She took one last gulp of her wine. "Thank you, I'm going to bed. I'll see you in the morning." She said getting up from the table.

"Night sis!" he called as she left the room.

Well then, his sister had a boyfriend, about time.


	26. Love, luck and other Misfortunes C14

**Just a cute little bit of fluff for you wonderful people. enjoy.**

 **XO Angelsong.**

Feb 14 2000 7:30 AM

Mulder had stopped outside work at the portable coffee stand to grab him and Scully coffee. As he reached the front of the line he saw the paper heart cut outs that adorned the front of the stand. He stood there confused for a moment before realizing. Shit, it's Valentine's Day. Should he get Scully a gift? Was that too much of a couple thing? Were they a couple? Did she know what today even was? If he didn't get her something would she be disappointed? A voice knocked him out of his head.

"Are you going to stand there all day or what?" It was the barista, he had been standing at the front of the que like a deer in headlights.

"Ah, can I get two long blacks with cream? He asked. The man nodded and went to pour the coffee. As Mulder went to pay for them he noticed a basket filled with chocolate hearts wrapped in red foil. He grabbed one and paid, tucking the sweet into his pocket he made his way into the building.

He still hadn't decided whether or not to give her the candy when he arrived in his office. He sat down at his desk and took a sip of his hot coffee it burned his tongue. Damn it! He thought putting the hot cup down on the desk. He looked over to the area Scully used, her post it notes were sitting out next to some pens. He smiled and decided what to do.

When Scully arrived half an hour later she was pleased to find a cup of coffee sitting out on her table. Mulder must have left the office for something, she thought sadly, she would have liked to thank him. She picked up the coffee and took a sip, it was perfect, not hot but still warm. She looked down to see a post it note stuck to the bottom of the cup. She peeled it off and read what was written on it. **Happy Valentine's Day, look in your draw.** She looked at the calendar. She had totally forgotten what today was she smiled and opened her draw. Inside sitting on top of her papers and office paraphernalia was a single red rose petal and a chocolate heart covered in red foil. On the foil in very fine writing was the words **be mine**. She quickly grabbed her post it notes and wrote him a note asking him if she could come over tonight.

She had just stuck in on his desk when he walked in the room. "Morning Scully." He said smiling at her.

"Morning Mulder. Thanks for the coffee." She said with a coy smile on her face.

He walked over to his desk and sat down, his eyes quickly found her note. He read through it and looked up to see her watching him from the other side of the desk. He slowly nodded to her and they both smiled.


	27. Signs of Evil C1

_Crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling, with swaths of gold fabric draped along the walls. The room was imbued with the light of a thousand candles, and a scent of decadence and sandalwood drifted through the air. She was standing in front of a large mirror that hung the length of the wall. She could see beautiful men and women dancing in the reflection. Her eyes caught sight of a stunning woman, she was dressed in an emerald floor length gown made of satin or silk. Roses made from green lace hung around her shoulders and breasts. Her hair was swept up into a mass fiery red curls, a single diamond pin could be seen on the side. The woman's hands were covered in white gloves that trailed up her arms to her elbows. She was perfect. A man walked up behind the beautiful woman, he placed a kiss at the woman's throat. She turned, the woman was her. The man took her by the arm and led her to the dance floor. His hair was longer than she remembered, and he looked different in his suit. More refined than she was used to. But as he led her in the dance she let herself gaze into his eyes, his ever changing eyes. She knew them well, every flicker of gold. The way they shifted into green at the edges, the same green as her dress she noted. Those eyes could be deceiving, telling only what he wanted her to see, and always hiding the deeper reasons. They could change at a moment's notice, leaving her breathless in wonder. But tonight his eyes told a different story. As they moved around the floor swaying to the music, his eyes spoke only of love. He stopped dancing and pulled her aside._

 _"Yes?" she asked, waiting for the words she never knew she longed for._

 _"Scully, I."_

 _He stopped suddenly and pulled a feather out of his pocket, he brought it up to her nose and started tickling her with it. She swatted the feather away wanting to hear what he was about to tell her, but he kept bringing it back to her face. She felt her eyes start to itch and she knew what would happen next._

Feb23 2000 8:30 AM

Scully let out a sneeze and rolled over in the bed opening her eyes. What the hell? Before she had a chance to figure out where she was and what was happening Charlie jumped on the bed next to her. "Happy Birthday!" He shouted in her ear.

She pushed herself upright and tried to clear the veil of sleep from her eyes. "What?" She asked stupidly blinking at her brother.

"God your slow in the morning, it's your birthday. Wake up I want to celebrate." He said lightly shaking her.

"Charlie, what the hell are you doing?" She asked looking at the alarm clock that she had expected to wake her this morning. "Shit, Charlie its 8:30 I'm late." She jumped out of her bed and rushed to the closet looking to throw on the first thing she came to. I can't believe I'm late on my birthday. What a great start to the day, she thought sarcastically.

Charlie was lounging on her bed seeming nonplussed at his sister's panicked rush. "It's fine, you have the day off." He said casually plucking at the floral comforter.

"What?" She turned to him furious, first he woke her up, then he waited until she was already getting ready to tell her she isn't working, and how the fuck does he know that she has the day off? She didn't ask for it, what did he think he was playing at? He know she hates surprises.

"Before you get all huffy at me, there's a pot of coffee brewing in the kitchen. Have some of that, and then you can scream at me." He said jumping off the bed and pulling her from the room.

They sat on the benches in the kitchen drinking coffee until she had calmed down enough to ask him. "How did you organise getting me the day off?"

"Oh, I rang Mulder." He said taking a sip of his over sugared coffee.

"You did what? When? You don't even have his number." Her mind was reeling, how dare he call Mulder to ask his permission for her to have the day off. How dare he give it.

"I rang him from your phone last week when you were in the shower." He could see the rage peeking out from his sisters wide eyes. "Dana, I was trying to do something nice, please? This is the first birthday I have got to see you on in almost ten years."

That took the wind out of her sails a bit, she tried to see things from his perspective. He had been very much on the sidelines of their entire family's life for a long time. It made sense that he wanted to enjoy her birthday this much. She took a calming breath. "Thank you Charlie, I do appreciate it, I just don't really react well to surprises. I'm sorry, but you should know, it was inappropriate of you to ask Mulder for me to have the day off."

"I didn't ask him to let you have the day off, I asked him to help plan the surprise." He said plainly.

"Oh." She felt like such an idiot, it had always been so important to her that she wasn't treated like a lesser just because she was a woman. It hadn't occurred to her that both her brother and her partner never had. "So what's the surprise?" She asked.

"Well, finish your coffee because we are going shopping. I am so sick of seeing you in black all the time. And it's all my treat." He said waving his wallet at her.

"Okay." She said smiling. "But you are not buying me everything, there is nothing wrong with my clothes."

He just rolled his eyes.

0000

Mulder had been agonizing over what to get Scully for her birthday ever since he received a surprise call from Charlie last week. He wandered around the mall aimlessly, going over the gifts he had given her in the past. There was that Apollo eleven key chain he had given her a few years back, but she didn't even like space travel. What else? Countless sporting videos that he saw she had dutifully kept on a shelf in her home, he doubted that she ever watched any of them. There was that book, but that was a one of a kind moment of luck that was surely never to be repeated.

Damn it, what did Scully like? How could he not know this after everything they had been through? He threw his hands up in the air and cursed loudly, fellow shoppers gave him looks and stepped away from him. He ignored them. Okay Mulder, think! He told himself. Break it down, what does she like.

Well, she liked the quiet. She preferred books over movies, and when she did watch movies she liked the classics. She liked being alone. She wasn't one to wear jewellery, or fuss over expensive items. She was caring, she'd cared for him for many years. She always put others needs before her own. She listens, she always knows what to say to make him feel better. She has the softest skin he has ever felt, and the bluest eyes he had ever seen.

He shook his head, he was getting of topic again. What should he buy her? He looked at his watch He was meeting Scully and Charlie for lunch in an hour here. He closed his eyes and cleared his mind, suddenly he started walking with determination, headed in a direction of purpose, for what he still hadn't figured out. But then, there it was, on a tiny stand outside the food court. The second he laid eye on it he knew it was perfect.


	28. Signs of Evil C2

Feb 23 2000 1:00 PM

Scully and Charlie headed down to the café in the mall. She had so many bags in her hands she could barely hold them, Charlie was the same. She smiled as they entered the café and she saw Mulder sitting at a table nursing a coffee.

"Hey." She said as she walked up to him.

Mulder took in the Scully siblings, they must have at least twenty bags each. "Wow Scully, did you buy out the whole mall?" He teased.

She was in too good of a mood to snap at him like she normally would so she just stuck out her tongue and sat down, arranging the bags at her feet. "There not all for her you know." Said Charlie, taking the vacant seat. "Washington has nothing on New York for fashion, but they're not half bad."

Scully blushed, she knew that only three of the bags were Charlie's. Although he had a great eye for clothes, he never really cared much for what he wore himself. A waitress walked up and took their order.

Mulder couldn't stop looking at her, she looked radiant. He knew Charlie must have spent a great deal on her, even though she had her savings, he knew that she couldn't afford this much of a shopping spree on a G-woman's salary. He glanced and the younger man trying to express his gratitude for making her so happy with his eyes. Charlie nodded in response. "Well, I can't buy you fifteen pairs of shoes, but I did get you a small present." He said and lifted the light blue gift bag up to put on the table.

Scully examined the bag, it was about A3 sized and the top was stapled shut, knowing Mulder it could have anything in it. She lifted her eyes to his silently asking if it's safe to open in a crowded café. He gave her the tiniest of nods and she pulled open the bag. Inside was a Bonsai tree and tools to trim and care for it. As well as a book on how to care for your Bonsai. It was so unbelievably thoughtful.

She loved plants but had given up on keeping any in her apartment a long time ago, it was frustrating to go away on a long case and come back to a house of dead plants. But Bonsai trees require very little care as long as they were watered properly. "Thank you Mulder, I love it." She smiled at him. All she wanted to do was reach out and hold his hand, but that was impossible.

Mulder smiled back at her, wishing he could touch her. "Better than a key chain?" he asked. She laughed and explained the previous gift to a quizzical Charlie.

She sat back in her chair as the boy's got talking about the differences between a satchel and a man purse, laughing at their debate. Mulder insisted that when a man carried a bag it was a satchel, whereas Charlie was trying to convince them that it was a man purse. The whole debate was so silly to her that she thought it didn't warrant her opinion. She loved that her boys got along, especially now that Charlie knew she and Mulder were more than partners. He had been making more of an effort to include Mulder in activities, even inviting him over to play cards one night. She still hadn't spent the night at Mulders since Charlie found out, she hadn't even told him that he knew. She wasn't sure why she decided not to tell Mulder, maybe it's because if people knew about them it was real, and she still didn't believe that yet.

The boys moved on to safer topics during the meal, their favourite sporting teams and why, Scully could join in on this one, having grown up in a family that loved football she had kept up to date on the who's who.

It was nearly 3:00 PM when they finally left the café, Charlie pointing out that they still needed to get their nails done. "That's definitely my cue to go." Declared Mulder. "Happy Birthday Scully." He said to her seriously, before heading out of the mall.

"Come on." Called Charlie dragging her over to the nail salon. She ordered a buff and polish never really being one of those girls who wore nail varnish. But it was still nice to have someone else taking care of her cuticles for once. Charlie and gone for the full pedicure treatment and when she looked over at him she saw he had his toenails painted a bright turquoise.

She laughed. "What's the point in that?" She asked.

"It's my favourite colour, and I like to feel pretty sometimes so shut up." He teased. It was true, he loved going in to a high pressure meeting with his clients spouse and their lawyers knowing that he had varnish on his feet. It made him feel like he had a secret.

After the nail salon they made the short trip back to the apartment, dumping all the bags in a pile on the floor. Charlie made coffee and she started going through the bags while it cooled. After she finished unpacking she looked at her haul, she almost had a completely new wardrobe. Suddenly the high from the spree wore off and she started to think about how much he had spent on her. She had only managed to pay for one item, a new pair of sensible heels for work, and that was only because Charlie had declared them hideous and refused to get them for her. She looked at the piles, he must have spent thousands. "Charlie, this is too much. Thank you for everything but I can't accept all this. We'll have to return it."

Charlie looked shocked. "We will do no such thing. I finally get to spoil my tiny sister and she wants to return it?" He shook his head.

"But Charlie, you must have spent over a thousand dollars on me." Argued Scully, feeling guilty.

"And I make that much in a week sometimes, Dana, its fine." He reassured her, pulling her to her feet. "Besides, I will not be responsible for you looking hideous." He joked.

"If you think she looks hideous now, you should have seen her four years ago." Called a voice from the door.

Scully turned and saw her best friend Ellen leaning on the door frame. "Oh my god!" She cried running over to hug her. Ellen and Tom moved away to Philadelphia a few years ago so Scully hardly ever saw her friend anymore. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm the other half of your surprise," Said Ellen.

Scully let go of her friend and ran over to her Brother and hugged him crying. She had never particularly enjoyed her birthdays in the past. Usually choosing to ignore them, this would go down in history as the best birthday she'd ever had. She turned to Ellen and noticed the suitcase. "How long are you staying?" She asked.

"Till Sunday if you'll have me." She replied.

Scully through a glance at Charlie. "There's fresh sheets on the bed and I am on the couch." He answered. "I'll go put away your new clothes and let you two catch up." He gathered up all of the day purchases and headed into Scully's room, she knew he would probably be in there a while, he and Ellen got on fine most of the time, but they butted heads occasionally.

"So, what's new? Tell me everything!" Said Ellen walking in to the kitchen to pour herself a coffee.

"Oh, you know me, same old, same old. Nothing changes." Replied Scully taking a sip from her cooled coffee.

"You still working with that jerk who's obsessed with his work?" She teased.

"Yes, I'm still working with Mulder, he's not a jerk." Sighed Scully. Ellen had been calling Mulder the workaholic jerk for seven years now, ever since her son Trent's birthday party when Scully had whined about her love life or lack there off, and Mulder.

"Uh huh, is he still cute?" Asked Ellen coyly.

"Why, you and Tom on the rocks?" She retorted.

"Come on Dana, I've been married for fifteen years! Let me live vicariously though you. All I have to work with at home is a sullen fourteen year old and a nine year old who thinks she knows everything."

Scully sighed. "I don' know what you want me to tell you, I haven't been on a date in years."

"So, you mean to tell me that in the last seven years you haven't had anyone?" Said Ellen incredulously.

"No, of course not. I'm not a nun." Replied Scully.

"So…. Did you and Mulder ever hook up?" Scully rolled her eyes. "Oh come on, some late night stake out that got a bit too boring, or an after work drink that turned into a few too many and ended in a cab ride with a show?"

"Ellen!" Cried Scully her cheeks going red.

"Never?" Pressed Ellen.

Scully looked away, hoping her friend wouldn't notice how bad of a liar she was. "Nope."

Ellen looked at her best friend whose face was starting to match her hair colour. "Dana Scully you are a terrible liar, no wonder you haven been returning my calls, what happened?" Scully just looked at her. "When?"

"New Year's." She replied.

"Oooh, I want details! Actually scratch that, go get changed. We are going out for a drink you can tell me everything there." Said Ellen dragging her friend up the hall.


	29. Signs of Evil C3

March 7 2000 6:05 AM

Scully woke with a start. She had felt something brush across her face, she sat up and looked around for the cause. She had left her windows open and a strong wind was hissing through the curtains. She got up to close the windows wondering what time it was. The sun hadn't risen yet and she hoped she could go back to sleep. She glanced at her alarm clock, 6:66 it read. She moved over to pick it up, and tried to reassure herself that it was the wind that made her shiver. She turned the clock over in her hands, rationalising that it must be a fault. All of a sudden it switched off. She shook it, it must be broken she thought. Then suddenly it and all the lights in the room turned on. For a second she thought perhaps Charlie had come into the room and hit the switch, but there was no one there. How strange, she thought. The clock seemed to be working just fine now. She blinked the sleep from her eyes, there would be no going back to sleep now. Besides she had to get up in an hour for work anyway.

She shuffled out to the kitchen to put on a pot of coffee rubbing her head. She could feel a headache forming behind her temples. After pouring herself a cup and setting it on the bench to cool she decided to start her morning rituals early, hopefully she will have enough time then to run down to the pharmacy before work to pick up some Tylenol. She still hadn't replenished her stock at home since the inevitable hangover she had endured when Ellen had visited for her birthday.

After hopping out of the shower and getting dressed, she headed back to the kitchen to drink her now perfect coffee. She was surprised to see Charlie up and out of bed so early, he was a worse morning person than she was. "Did I wake you?" She asked grabbing her cup and taking a sip.

"No, I was up already. I have an eight o'clock flight actually." He replied taking a sip of his own coffee.

Scully's brow furrowed. "A flight? Where are you going?" Had he told her he was going somewhere. She didn't think so.

Charlie looked up from his coffee guiltily. "Ah, New York. I have the week off work and I thought I would go and pick up my things."

"Why didn't you tell me Charlie? I would have gone with you. You shouldn't have to see Jason and Dick alone." She said annoyed. It was just so typical of him to keep this from her, he was more like her than she thought.

"Vic." He corrected. "His name is Vic, and I won't be alone, I'm staying with some old work friends and they have agreed to help me." She tried not to feel insulted that he asked work colleagues for help before her. "Don't look at me like that, they wanted to throw me a going away party anyway. One last hurrah in New York. I didn't want to bother you."

"How long will you be gone?" She asked, she was getting used to having someone at the house with her all the time. Especially since Charlie had begun working now so she still got some quiet time occasionally.

"A week, I'm hiring a moving van and driving it back down, I already organised a storage shed." He said.

"Alright, but I'm driving you to the airport, no arguments." She replied shaking her head at him.

A whole week without Charlie, she thought. I can have Mulder over. They had been able to spend more time together outside of work now that Charlie knew about them, but she had been careful not to allow herself to spend too much time with him. It was too easy to forget about all her worries when she stayed at Mulders house, too easy to pretend that they were a real couple. We could never be a couple, she reminded herself, we don't have a future.

But still, it would be nice to have him over at her place for once. She felt more in control of herself and her feelings here. She walked over to her coat and pulled out her cell phone to call and tell him that she would be a little late into work today.

"Hey Scully." He answered with a laugh. "I was just about to call you."

"You were?" She asked surprised.

"Yeah, Skinner just called me, we have been asked to advise on a case out in Marion Illinios. I was going to ask you to meet me at the airport."

She laughed, "I was calling you to tell you I would be late to work because I have to drop Charlie off at the airport."

"Huh, must be fate. So I'll meet you there?" He replied.

"Sure, see you there."

0000

Mulder hung up the phone and groaned, why didn't he just tell her about the case! Screw that, why didn't he just go by himself? He knew why, because she would kill him if she found out that he had ditched her again, especially on this case. Donny Pfaster, it had to be him. The last time they had dealt with that psycho she had nearly been killed. Mulder had never seen her fall apart like that, not when she had cancer, not when she was abducted, not even when Melissa was killed. This guy had gotten under her skin further than any other case.

He should have told her, he should have told her and let her decide on her own whether or not to come. He sighed and went to pack a bag, he would tell her at the airport. Hopefully she would go home and let him deal with it.

He still hadn't worked out how to tell her when he arrived at the airport an hour later. Case file in hand he wandered up to the check in desk. She was standing to one side waiting for him. Usually when he first caught sight of her his stomach would do backflips, today it felt like lead. "Hey Scully, did Charlie get off ok? Where's he going anyway?"

"Hey, yeah, he's off to New York for a week to get his stuff and say good bye to some old friends." She replied smiling at him. He didn't smile back. He looked strange, she thought. Something was off. "What's the matter Mulder?" She asked. "Is it the case?"

Damn she was perceptive, he cursed. He looked into her inquiring blue eyes. "Yeah." He said and handed her the case file. She flipped open the jacket and he watched as the blood drained from her face.

"What is this?" She asked snapping the file shut without reading it, all she needed to see was the large photo inside to know what this was about.

"Donny Pfaster escaped from prison this morning, and we've been asked to consult with the local task force on how." He said quietly looking at his feet.

"Do they want us to find him?" She snapped. Immediately she felt terrible, she looked up to see the hurt on his face and admonished herself. Keep it together Dana, she told herself.

"No, they just want us to help figure out how he got out." He replied.

She sighed and rubbed her temples, she had forgotten to go to the drug store before she came here and now her head was throbbing. "Okay, let's go do what we have to do." She said regaining her composure.

He nodded and walked over to collect their tickets. She stood there trying to build up the courage to get on the plane and go see where that vile creature lived. She refused to think of him as a man, he was a monster. It had taken her months to get over the nightmares she had from their last meeting. Her throat was dry and her breakfast was sitting uncomfortably in her stomach. Unlike every other monster, or wack job they had dealt with before on the X files Donny Pfaster scared her. She had looked into his eyes when he held her bound in the closet and she saw the devil.

She mentally shook herself, she would not be that weak little girl who couldn't get away. She was stronger now. She would not let herself fall apart because of him. She walked over to Mulder as he grabbed the tickets. She didn't say anything, worried her voice would betray her. But she stayed close as they walked to the gate.


	30. Signs of Evil C4

March 7 2000 11:30 AM

Mulder glanced over at his partner as he parked the rental car outside the prison. She hadn't spoken much since he told her about the case and had picked at her lunch rather than actually eat. She looked a little pale, and smaller than usual. But she had a look of sheer determination on her face that made his heart soar. He knew how strong she was, he'd seen her strength many times. It was strange how all he wanted now, was for her to show him her weaknesses. He hated that she was still not comfortable enough to share with him. He wished he could just pick her up and hold her, running his fingers through her hair and whisper to her that he would take care of her. But Scully didn't need anyone to look after her, she took care of him. He sighed and looked into her eyes. "You ready?" He asked her.

She nodded, and they got out of the car and headed for the security gate. It had been a long couple of hours for her, but she felt like she was in control. It helped that Pfaster wasn't going to be there. Just get in, do the consult and get out. She repeated to herself.

They were directed by a guard to the work room. They followed as he escorted them there, she was thankful she wouldn't have to see Pfasters cell. When they walked it they were greeted by a team of US Marshals, who had been assigned to track down the inmate. After a quick exchange of badges and introductions the lead Marshal, a man by the name of Perkins jumped straight into it.

"Life without a chance of parole, for the premeditated and sadistic sexual murders of five twin cities women in 1994, Donald Addie Pfaster." He said handing Scully his copy of the case file.

She didn't want to look at it again, especially not here, in a room filled with officers. She walked over to the side hoping no one would notice how green she looked.

"You two put this man away." Finished Perkins.

"Yeah." Said Mulder quietly. He turned to watch Scully as she walked past him. He still felt like dirt for bringing her in the first place. "Someone forgot to throw away the key." He said turning back to the Marshal.

"Yeah well, that's another story, right now we have to apprehend this man. We'd use all the help you can give us in understanding exactly who it is we're after." Replied Perkins.

Scully had opened the file and was staring at the large black and white image of Pfaster. She swallowed, I can do this, he is just a man. She thought to herself.

"Donnie Pfaster is a death fetishist, a collector of bone and dead flesh, of toenails and hair. It's what floats his boat, gets him off." Said Mulder.

"He's a sick man." Stated Perkins.

"Sick would describe him, we found women's fingers in his freezer. He liked to eat them with his peas and carrots." Replied Mulder. As soon as the words were out of his mouth he regretted them. Why did he always have to make jokes when things became uncomfortable? He tried to look back at Scully but she had her back to him.

She felt sick hearing Mulders words, her fingers, if he got the chance, if Mulder hadn't got there in time. There would have been her fingers in the freezer.

"So it's just women he's after?" Enquired Perkins.

"Just women." Agreed Mulder. "Been five years in here thinking about only that, I'm sure he's worked up quite an appetite."

"I happen to know you two agents have a particular forte." Said Perkins "A thing for, what's it called? The supernatural?" Mulder grimaced at the man, I guess we have a reputation everywhere, he thought. "Now the circumstances of the escape…." Continued Perkins.

"I promise you there is nothing supernatural about this man." Said Scully, finally composed enough to speak, she walked over to the Marshal and handed back the file. "Donnie Pfaster is just plain evil." And with that she walked out.

She felt dirty all over, that deep kind of dirty that no amount of washing could remove. She wandered down the hall and saw a sign that said chapel. Without knowing why she headed towards the door and opened it. It was a basic sort of room, pipes exposed in the ceiling. There was scripture written directly on the walls in black paint and a simple wooden cross nailed to the far wall. Plain wooden chairs were stacked up against another wall, and she noticed a security camera in the corner mounted on the wall. She wondered why she had come in here. She was about to turn around when she heard it, coming faintly out of the air-conditioning vent. It was music. _Don't look any further, someone to count on._ She recognised the song, Dennis Edwards. She remembered the last time she had heard it. She had just been a child, but when her mother had told her about her Sunday school teacher, that he had been gun down in his front yard, she had realised what the world was really like.

"Case closed." Said Mulder, of course he came to find her. "You didn't look at the file, did you?" He said still keeping his distance. He thought if she read the file she could keep her mind on the facts, not the person.

"A man escaped from prison." She said bluntly.

"Not a man. Donnie Pfaster, and he didn't just escape, he walked out. He walked out of a maximum security facility and no one seems to know how he did it." He walked around the room pretending he was reading the scripture on the wall and not looking at her.

"Isn't that why we're here?" She asked. That's what he had told her.

"That's why I'm here." He said walking towards her. "I don't know about you. Why are you here?" he stopped a footstep away from her and studied her face. She broke his eye contact. She was here to prove that she was strong enough to handle it. But right now, she didn't feel strong. "Go home, Scully." He asked her.

"Mulder, this case doesn't bother me." She lied.

"The man abducted you. Donnie Pfaster did a number on your head like I've never seen, and its okay to walk away." He could see how much she was hurting. Please let me take care of this for you, he begged with his eyes.

"Mulder, that man does things to people that no one should ever have to think about." But I do every day she added silently. "it's not a question of if I should stay, I don't have a choice."

He stared at her, watching as those walls he had helped pull down were erected once again, a hundred foot higher. "So, let's get to work." She said.

"Well, this isn't the first incident. Two prisoners have escaped from maximum security facilities in neighbouring states over the past year. At 6:06 this morning Donnie Pfaster made it three."

6:06? That was the time I woke up this morning, she thought, remembering the strange circumstances surrounding her early morning. "6:06?" She confirmed. She told herself it was just a coincidence. "And what's so supernatural about that?" she asked.

"Dozens of witnesses, guards and staff, and no one seems to remember anything. For a while they didn't even know these guys were missing."

"Have they been apprehended?" She asked. She was the model of professional now.

"No, neither of the men have ever been seen again." he said sadly. It was like he was talking to the Scully of four years ago, the one who never shared anything not case related.

"So where do we start?" She asked.

"Well, there was an incident regarding a fellow inmate this morning, right before Pfasters disappearance. I think we should start there."

They walked out of the room, he was careful to keep an appropriate distance from her. He knew he wouldn't get his Scully back until this case was resolved.

He must have set up the interview before he came and found me, Scully thought. Because the Marshals were already organizing the interview room when they met back up in the work room. She could hear some of the men commenting on her as she walked past. Ice queen they called her. Someone made a joke that Mr and Mrs Spooky must be fighting. She didn't care she held her head high and walked into the interview room to wait for the inmate to arrive. Mulder was right behind her.

He came in wearing cuffs the kind that connected at the feet as well, they're not taking any more chances, she thought. The guard pushed him roughly to the chair and he sat down. She moved to stand by the window as Mulder sat in the chair opposite the man.

"I already told the warden everything I know." Said the inmate, staring down Mulder. "Everything I saw that day."

"Yes but I'm still a little confused. Maybe you could go over it again." He replied, trying to make the prisoner comfortable with him.

The inmate sighed. "I'm a Christian man." He said to Mulder.

"Then I know you'll tell me the truth." Replied Mulder smiling at the man.

"Yeah. But I got no idea about Donnie Pfaster." He said turning to stare at Scully. "Or how he broke out."

"You and Donnie were in the garment shop." Said Mulder, pulling the man's attention away from his partner. "At or about the time he disappeared."

"Well, it wasn't just me. I mean, there were a lot of us in the shop." Argued the inmate.

"Yeah but you had something happen. You had an incident."

"Yeah." Said the man nodding. "Something like that."

"You cried out to the guards that you'd cut your hands." Led Mulder.

"My fingers man, I saw them all cut off." He said holding up his perfectly intact hands.

"Others saw them too." Said Mulder, he had already read over the reports from the guards. The man claimed to have his fingers chopped off by a piece of machinery. The guards had confirmed witnessing it.

"No, but I felt them cut off." Said the man.

"How do you explain that?" He asked.

The man smiled and a serene expression came over his face. "God works in mysterious ways, brother." His voice had change, dropped an octave. Like he was mimicking someone else's words.

Mulder had a thought, he'd heard about mass hypnotism before. He couldn't be sure yet, but it would explain how this man had seen and felt his fingers cut off when they were clearly still attached to his hands. There was one way to find out.

He raised his hand palm up. "Glory" Said the man. Mulder lowered his hand "Amen." Said the inmate. Mulder tried it again. "Glory….. Amen."

Scully looked at the prisoners feet as Mulder tried it for a third time, when Mulders hand came up, so did the inmate's right foot. When he lowered his hand the man lowered his foot.

Mulder smiled, he was certain, this inmate had been hypnotised. "Thank you that will be all." He said and the guard walked over to remove the inmate.

He got up to leave the room and Scully followed him. When they got into the hall she asked "Mulder, what was that?"

"Post hypnotic suggestion, did you see him?" He replied.

"You mean did I see him raise his foot?" She asked. "Yes, I saw that."

"A programmed behaviour prompted and manifested by suggestion, in this case a rhythmic motion of the hands." He said demonstrating the motion to her. "Producing an unconscious act in a conscious state." He continued to do the motion to her. "Doesn't work on you." He joked.

She let out a smile. "I know what hypnosis is Mulder." She said flatly.

"Group hypnosis." He corrected.

"If you're suggesting that Donnie Pfaster escaped from prison using a technique from a Vegas lounge act, I'd think again. She certainly wasn't in the mood to deal with one of his far out theories today. She just wanted to figure this out so she could go home.

"Mesmer was able to hypnotise and command entire audiences." He argued.

"So, how would Donnie Pfaster have acquired this amazing ability?" She asked, failing to keep the sarcasm from her voice.

"I'm not saying that it was Donnie." He replied. He was trying not to be offended by Scully's attitude. He knew it was because of the case and not because of him.

"Well then, who?" She asked.

"Three inmates are missing from three separate prisons. One man has had possible contact with each of those cons. The prison chaplain." He surmised "Glory, amen." He mimicked.

But she wasn't listening anymore, she could hear that song again. She looked up to see where it was coming from. Mulder mistook her upturned face as her looking up to the heavens. "Not God. The chaplain." He corrected. He looked up to where she was staring, and saw an air vent. "Scully, What?" he asked her.

"That song. Can you hear that? She asked and moved closer to the vent to listen.

He moved over next to her. "Barely."

"I haven't hear that song since high school. That's the second time I've heard it in the last hour." She said, her mind going back to the last time she heard it.

"Well, I think if it was a make out song, I think it would be ruined forever now, huh?" he flirted. But she didn't notice. "Come on, let's go find our preacher man." He said walking her out to the door.

He headed over to the Marshals that were still in the workshop. "Perkins, what do we know about the prison chaplain?"

"Ah, nothing. Is it important?" Asked the man.

"Three inmates from three facilities go missing in strange or unusual circumstances, yes I would say the man that has ties to them all would be important." Replied Mulder dryly. "Find out what you can and report back to us." He said and handed over his card.

The Marshal nodded taking it. He called over one of his men and handed him the card. "We'll find out what we can." Said Perkins.


	31. Signs of Evil C5

March 7 2000 4:23 PM

She had shut herself in her hotel room the minute they had got there, and had laid on the bed. The headache she had been suffering from earlier had turned into a full blown migraine. Eventually Mulder had knocked on the door to check on her, she had shouted that she had a headache and told him to leave her alone. He had, until now. She had just managed to drift into a fitful sleep when she felt someone rubbing her back. She jumped up off the still made bed and looked around for her service weapon. She saw an embarrassed looking Mulder standing next to the bed with his hands up.

"Mulder? What are you doing?" She asked confused.

"I'm sorry, you told me you had a headache so I went out and got you some Tylenol. You didn't answer when I knocked-"

"So, what you just broke in?" She asked eyebrow raising.

He looked at her guiltily and shrugged.

Her voice raised as she told him. "Mulder, that is unacceptable. This is my room, you don't just break in whenever you feel like it."

"I, I was just trying to take care of you." He said quietly.

"I don't need your help! I'm fine, can you please just leave?" She said, her head was pounding and she still couldn't shake the images of her dream out of her mind.

"I'm sorry Scully." He said looking down, he walked over to the door and out of the room.

As soon as he left she grabbed out her toiletries and headed to the bathroom. She turned the shower on full hot and pulled off her wrinkled clothes. The water was hot enough to redden her skin on contact but she didn't care. She rested her forehead on the cool tile under the showerhead and let the water run down the back of her neck. Then she let it all out, all of the pain, hurt and rage that she had been feeling all day dripped down her face in hot salty drops. Her breath wracked in her chest but she couldn't stop. Not until it was all gone. For a long time she stood there and cried.

0000

He sat on the end of his bed listening, not long ago he heard her turn the shower off. That had been one of the hardest moments of his life, listening to his partner, the love of his life, as she wept. He could feel the pain and fear in her cries and all he wanted to do was burst in there and hold her. But she wanted him gone, even now when everything was different, she didn't want to let him in. Why? He was so thankful when he heard her stop. It was quiet now, he wasn't sure if she had gone back to sleep or if she was just sitting in the room like him, doing nothing. His stomach started to growl, he wondered if she was hungry. She had barely eaten all day, she should probably eat something.

He got up and paced around the room trying to build up the determination to knock on her door. She probably didn't want to see him. It was like being caught between a rock and a hard place. Fuck it, he thought and headed out the door, if she didn't answer at least he had tried. Three steps was all it took to reach her motel door. He took a deep breath and knocked. A few moments later she opened the door. Her hair was wet and dripped on her shoulders, which was covered in a fluffy bathrobe. Her eyes were puffy, but that was to be expected. Her skin looked hot and red. Mulder stifled an urge to reach out and touch her.

"Hey Scully, I was going to order pizza. Do you want some?" He asked quietly.

She thought for a moment, her throat was raw from earlier and her stomach felt like lead, but since taking the pills Mulder had left there her headache was subsiding. She should eat she told herself. She cleared her throat. "Yeah, that sounds good."

She didn't say no, he thought happily, there was progress. "Okay, I'll order delivery." He smiled at her.

She smiled back weakly. She walked over to her purse and pulled out some money, Mulder waited in the open doorway. "Can you get some drinks please? From the vending machine?"

"Sure what do you want?" He asked her waiting for her to walk back, he still didn't want to walk in to her room without her directly telling him he could.

"Something sweet." She replied, knowing she could probably use the sugar.

He nodded and left closing the door as he went. She headed over to her case and pulled out her pyjamas. They were the long flannel type that she liked, Charlie must have put them in the dryer when he did the washing because they felt extra soft and comforting. She heard a knock on the door and walked back to let Mulder in.

"Pizza should be here in fifteen." He said handing her a can of grape soda. He then waited in the doorway.

She sighed. "You can come in Mulder." He smiled and walked in sitting down by the little table under the window. "I'm sorry about before, you just startled me."

"No, you were right Scully, I never should have presumed so much." He said shaking his head at her.

She sat on the bed facing him, it was further away than the other chair, but she liked it like that. The more distance between us the easier it is to lie to him, she though. "Thank you for the Tylenol."

He waved his hand. "What are friends for?" he said lightly.

They sat there awkwardly for some time. Mulder finally broke the silence. "So, is you headache better?" He enquired.

"Yes thank you, have you had any word from Perkins yet about the chaplain?" She replied.

He shook his head. "No, nothing. I was hoping to get a call tonight, but it looks like it's going to be the morning now."

Back to awkward silence. Fortunately the silence didn't last long as the pizza man arrived. Mulder went and paid the man, tipping him for being so prompt. He walked over to the bed opening the box so that she could grab out a slice without having to move, and then headed back to his spot by the table.

After taking a few bites, and making sure she was eating too he turned to her. "Did I ever tell you about the time I met the gunmen?" He asked.

"No, I don't believe you have." She replied, she had never really thought about it. She had just always known they were there. She was sure the story would be full of conspiracies and danger so she got up and grabbed another slice before he started.

"Oh, you are going to love this." He said smiling.


	32. Signs of Evil C6

March 8 2000 12:02 AM

The next morning they slept late, they had been up until very late swapping funny stories and laughing until Scully had finally kicked Mulder out citing a need for sleep. He had left smiling glad that he had been able to make her laugh and hoping that the new day would bring a happier Scully for him.

But unfortunately that wasn't the case, she had slept poorly. On more than one occasion after waking up from a nightmare she had thought about knocking on his door and crawling into bed with him. But she hadn't, despite everything, she still didn't feel comfortable letting him see he falter. So when Mulder knocked on her door that morning at 10:00 AM she had been annoyed at the awakening. Fortunately for him, he had come with coffee in hand and within twenty minutes he had an alert Scully on his hands. They had spent the morning checking out the scenery in Marion, stopping to have lunch in a local diner. It was there that Mulder received the call.

"Hello?" He said answering the phone.

"Agent Mulder?" Said an unfamiliar voice.

"Speaking." He replied.

Scully looked over to him with interest, who is it she mouthed. He gave her a shrug in reply and she reached over the table to pinch some of his fries while he was distracted.

"Hi it's Deputy Harris from the U.S Marshals office. I'm calling to inform you that there has been a sighting of your suspect at the Marion Greyhound Bus Depot on Main Street."

He waved and Scully and motioned to finish up. "When?" he asked

"Not ten minutes ago." Replied the Deputy. "Our men should already be there."

"We're on our way." Said Mulder and hung up the phone.

"What is it?" Asked Scully.

"They've found him." He replied sliding out of the booth.

Her blood ran cold, could this really be over? She slid out after him, steeling herself to the idea that in fifteen minutes she could be staring into the face of evil, again. As they got into the car and headed for the bus stop she felt a shiver run up her spine.

She was staring ahead blankly, he worried that all the work he had put in to making her feel better last night and today would be ruined. He needed to reassure her that he was still there for her.

He reached across to grab her hand. She flinched when he touched her. She didn't mean to, she just couldn't stop thinking about Pfaster. And what he had tried to do to her. Every time she closed her eyes she could see him. Her hands were bound and he had put a gag in her mouth. He was on top of her, and he was going to hurt her, and she couldn't do anything to stop him. She felt bile in the back of her throat and swallowed roughly. Mulder had removed his hand when she flinched and it was now resting on the gear stick of the car. She wanted to reach out and hold it, but she was afraid. Afraid that he would look at her and ask her if she was okay. For once if he asked she wouldn't say she was fine. She would tell him everything, and then he would see her for what she was. Weak, and in their line of work, weak meant useless. So instead she sat, like a rock, and let him ignore her.

They pulled over at the depot, in front of a diner. She let him take the lead as they walked inside. Perkins was sitting in one of the booths, he looked tired and disorientated.

"Was he here?" Mulder asked him.

"Well, um… We're trying to determine that." He replied.

"Did you see him?" Asked Scully.

"Well, that's a good question. We thought we saw something. But apparently we didn't." Said Perkins, his men lowered their heads in shame.

"We got a call about a possible sighting of the suspect." Said Mulder. Perkins nodded still looking dazed. "Well something happened here, huh?"

"Guy got hit by a car." Said the waitress as she brought Perkins a cup of coffee.

"Prison chaplain, it turns out. A reverend Orison, paramedics took him to the hospital, he's in pretty bad shape." Explained Perkins.

 _In a world ever changing, here I am stop._ It's that song again, thought Scully. She turned and saw a radio on the bench near the waitress. "Excuse me, uh, could you turn that up, please?" The waitress pointed at the radio. "Yeah." Confirmed Scully. _What you need is a lover, someone to take over, oh girl, don't look any further._ This means something, she thought. Why am I hearing this song over and over?

"Scully?" Said Mulder bringing her out of her reverie.

She turned to look at him. "Huh?"

She looked strange, whatever her thoughts had been they were dark, thought Mulder. "I got the information on the hospital the Reverend is at, do you want to pay him a visit?" he asked tentatively.

She blinked. "Uh, Yeah. Let's go."

As they drove over to the hospital once again in silence, Mulder chanced a sidelong glance at his partner. She was staring out the window but her eyes had a glazed look about them that made him think she was miles away. He sighed and put his mind to the case at hand, the sooner this was over the sooner he would get her back. This Reverend Orison had to be their hypnotist, he just had to prove it. He wondered what the man was up to, it wasn't a coincidence that they had been called to a sighting of Pfaster and the reverend was there. But being hit by a car? He figured that wasn't part of the plan.

They pulled up at the hospital and got out. She shook her head and followed Mulder into the building. She had spent the car ride reliving her experience with Pfaster, over and over. The fear, the pain, the rage, it was all as fresh now as the day it happened. She had come to the same conclusion time and time again. She was weak, she was helpless, and she didn't deserve to be here.

They were told to wait by the nurse, the Reverend was having some test done. So they sat in silence for hours while they waited for him to be brought back to his room. As the time went on she slipped further and further into her memories and nightmares. She remembered her teacher, the kind older man who had been killed in his front yard. Men like Donnie Pfaster killed him, evil beings who hurt and kill with no regard. She could still see the look on her mother's face when she had told her. Emotions were always considered childish things to the Scully clan, but when her mother told her what had happened, she had cried. Not like she had done yesterday. But something in her broke that day, and it has never been repaired.

Mulder had been waiting patiently for the Reverend to arrive, when the man was finally wheeled into the room he stood up. The nurse walked out. "He's awake now if you want to talk to him." She said to them.

"Thank you." He replied.

"Scully? Could you head in and look at the reverends chart, make sure he didn't have any anomalies that couldn't be explained by the car accident." He asked.

"Sure." She replied.

"Agent Mulder!" Called a man in a suit, jogging up to the pair. He held a file in his hand.

He turned and waited for the man. "I'll be right there I just need to check somethings." He nodded at the Marshal.

She nodded, he probably didn't think she was good company right now, she thought. She just wished today never happened. It made her so angry, why were they even here? They had been asked to consult on the escape, they had done that. It's not their job to find Pfaster, so why were they the only ones doing anything. She walked inside and grabbed the chart of the end of the bed where it was hanging and read it. The Reverend was awake and she knew she would have to talk to him.

"You're lucky to be alive, Reverend Orison." She said hanging the chart back up.

"Who are you?" The man asked.

"Special Agent Dana Scully." She answered staring the man down.

"Believe in the Lord Agent Scully, He believes in you." He said.

"That's nice." She replied sarcastically. She refused to show him any weakness, this man knew something and she was going to find out what. "But my partner and I are more concerned with several disappearances from maximum security facilities that seem to involve you."

"Don't be concerned." He said serenely. "God has them."

"What do you mean?" she asked, he said nothing. "Reverend?"

"You're a believer, aren't you?" He asked her changing the subject.

"This has nothing to do with me, sir."

"It has everything to do with you. You have faith… you have _had_ faith. You hear him calling you, but you're unsure what to do." He said, his voice steady and melodic.

Scully reached out and pulled the golden cross she always wore on her neck out to better show him. "It's not exactly a long shot, sir." Sarcasm dripped from her final word.

"You stand, as you do now. Neither here nor there… longing, but afraid, waiting for a sign. But the signs are everywhere."

You don't know me, she thought. You have no idea how I feel about my faith. She could feel the heat of her anger rising to the surface, you will not pull me of topic. "What happened to the inmates, sir?"

"Everything has a reason, Scout. Everything on Gods earth. Every moment of every day, the Devil waits for but an instant. As it is, it has always been. The Devil's instant is our eternity.

She swallowed hard. He had called her Scout, she hadn't heard that name in years. Not since she was a child, how would he know that? Could God truly be talking through him? What would that mean? Was he talking to her? She was so confused. She heard the door open and turned to watch her partner stroll through the door.

"Good Reverend, how do you do? Or maybe I should say, how do you do it?" He said walking up to stand next to Scully.

"His is the word, I am but the messenger who delivers it." Said the man of God.

"Well, this delivery arrived a little late." He was fumbling with some files. "A little late, and a little cold." He said pulling out a photo and handing it to the man. "I thought you would want to see it."

It was a girl, she was in a bathtub surrounded by candles, but the water was bloody. The fingers of her right hand were gone, cut right down to the stump of her palm. Her hair was cut haphazardly down to the scalp at places. Scully tried not to look at the picture, she knew how Pfaster killed.

The preacher pushed the photo away. "What is this?"

"Blood of the lamb, Reverend. Handiwork of Mr Donnie Pfaster. A young girl he picked up at the bus stop." Said Mulder.

"Oh, Lord." Said the Reverend, he looked green.

"Where is he, Reverend?" He asked.

Orison looked to be struggling with what he had heard, he sighed. "He took my car, she wasn't supposed to die."

"No, Donnie was supposed to die." Said Mulder, he understood why they had never found the other inmates. "You were supposed to kill him. That's why you freed him. God knows you're capable of it." Scully looked at him curiously. "The Reverend Orison is really Robert Gailen Orison, convicted in 1959 of first degree murder. Served 22 years in Soldad."

So that had been what Mulder was doing with the Marshal, she thought. She didn't remember him asking anyone to get that information. Although she hadn't left his side all day, she supposed it's possible that he had made the call and she just hadn't noticed. She had been out of it a lot lately.

"God spoke to me. He told me to look after Donnie." Said the Reverend.

"When God spoke to you, Reverend. Did he happen to mention where Donnie was headed?" Asked Mulder.

The man bowed his head in shame. Mulder nodded, "I thought not." He said and walked out.

Scully followed him out. "Where are you going, Mulder?" She called.

"To prove that man's a liar." He said turning to face her.

"How do you prove that somebody isn't being directed by God?" She asked him and he pulled a face. "You don't believe that it happens?"

"God is a spectator, Scully. He just reads the box scores." He replied.

"I don't believe that." She said.

"You think God directs that man?" He asked incredulously. "You think he directs him to kill?"

"Donnie Pfaster isn't dead, and we don't know that the other inmates who escaped are dead either."

"So, what? You think that God directs him to let the prisoners out to kill?" this was ridiculous, the fact that she was even entertaining the idea was laughable, he hoped she was just arguing for arguments sake.

"No, but I believe that the Reverend believes what he is saying. That it's God working through him." She said seriously.

He nodded, "Well, plenty of nut bags do." He shot. He watched as her face fell. "Has he ever spoken to you?" He asked.

She stared at him. What was he implying? That she was a nut bag? "I'm trying not to take offence." She said acidly.

"What did he say?" He asked seriously. He hadn't meant to hurt her, if she believed in this she would have good reason.

She stared at him, trying to ascertain whether or not he was teasing her. His face only showed concern. This is going to sound crazy, she thought and took a deep breath. "Mulder, I have heard that song three times now. That may not mean anything to you, but it means something to me."

"What does it mean?" He pressed.

"I never thought about it before. It never meant anything to me until yesterday, when it made me remember something."

"What?"

She took another deep breath, it was not a happy memory and she still wasn't sure that he wouldn't think she was crazy. "When I was thirteen, my father was stationed in San Diego. I was listening to the radio, to that song, when my mother came in and told me that my Sunday school teacher had been killed."

"Oh," He said softly. That was a little spooky he thought.

"He had been murdered in his front yard." She continued. "And that's the first time that I ever felt that there was real evil in the world." She paused, thinking about her teacher. "Mulder, Reverend Orison called me Scout. That's the same name that my Sunday school teacher called me. Donnie Pfaster escaped from prison at 6:06 AM. That exactly the same time that I woke up yesterday when my power went out." She felt insane, but it all made sense.

"So, what do you think that God is telling you?" He asked her. I don't know, she thought. How am I supposed to decipher all that? She looked up at him incredulously. "Well, alright. Come with me Scout. I'll show you how the Reverend talks to God." He said reaching out for her arm to lead her to an exam room.

He had looked over Orisons test results while she had been talking to the man and had asked a nurse to set them up in the exam room so that he could show Scully.

"What are we doing here, Mulder?" She asked as he sat her down next to a computer screen.

He held up a finger with one hand and clicked on the mouse. And image appeared on the screen. "It's a cerebral edema" He said pointing it out on screen.

"Swelling of the brain, a trauma not uncommon with this kind of head injury or accident." She countered. This was strange, she thought. Her believing in the strange and supernatural, and him trying to disprove it with science. On any other case she would have found it hysterical, but with this one, nothing could ever be funny.

"Except this isn't accidental. The cause, in fact, as it was stated to me, is self-inflicted. There's a small hole, here in the skull." He said pointing to it on the screen. "Which allows oxygen into the brain cavity, the result of which is the Reverend Orison has three times the normal blood volume pumping through his brain."

"And he did this himself?" She said incredulously.

"Yeah. My guess is he probably did it when he first got into prison, when he first learned how to use its powers."

And there it was, she thought. He could never manage to find a completely supernatural free explanation, regardless of how ridiculous it was. "Its powers?"

"There's a theory, that at this point in human evolution our mental capacities are limited only by inadequate blood supply. In fact, centuries ago, in the Peruvian Andes, holy men used to physically remove parts of their skulls in order to increase blood volume, or drill small holes."

Where did that theory come from? She wondered, it certainly wasn't a medical journal, and how where we to know why holy men from hundreds of years ago took out chunks of their skulls. "So, this hole in his head enables Reverend Orison to help these prisoners escape?" she asked.

"The practitioners of this, found that they could perform certain mental tricks, one of which they called stopping the world." He finished.

"Well, nobody can stop the world, Mulder. I don't care how many holes they have in their head." She said flatly.

"Yeah, but maybe they can alter perception of it, creating a disparate version of reality which they can then project through hypnosis."

"But why?" She argued, she was really getting sick of this crap. "I mean, even if he could, why?" Why would this man use his powers to let out murderous?

"Donnie Pfaster is serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole. That's the final judgement as far as society is concerned, but not in the eyes of God, or in the eyes of a man that thinks he's God's tool."

"Well then if Reverend Orison did mean to kill Donnie Pfaster, then why is he still alive?" She asked poignantly.

"I don't know." He replied the coming down from the high he got from working out the puzzle. "Maybe he unleashed something that he couldn't control. Maybe he thought he was opening the door of perception, but then he unwittingly opened the gates of hell."

She looked away, hell indeed, and Donnie Pfaster was the devil incarnate. She shook her head to clear yet another image of Pfaster from her mind. She still couldn't see his theory as belonging anywhere other than a crappy casino's stage, but she couldn't come up with anything else to explain it.


	33. Signs of Evil C7

March 8 2000 8:00 PM

He had showered and dressed and was now pacing nervously outside her door. He had been a dick all afternoon, ignoring what was obviously important to her. He couldn't help it, sometimes he got so wrapped up in a mystery he forgot about everything else. He was going to need to work on that if he wanted this relationship to work. Especially with this case, so he had decided to take Scully out tonight and help her take her mind off it.

He knocked on the door, she was still dressed in the outfit she had been wearing all day. He looked into the room and saw the book he had bought her resting on the bed. "Hey Scully." He said.

"Hey Mulder, I was just thinking about dinner, what do you feel like?" She asked, stepping back to let him enter the room.

"Ah, I, um thought we could go out for dinner, if you wanted." He said shyly.

"Like a date?" she asked smiling.

He shrugged. "I guess so, if you want it to be." He had his trademarked half smile on.

She thought for a moment, did it really matter if anyone saw them? She decided that tonight she didn't care. "That sounds great. Let me get changed."

He smiled at her as she grabbed out a pair of jeans and a tee from her bag, and laughed as she walked into the bathroom to get changed. "You know I have seen you naked before!" He called out to her.

She ignored him and checked her reflection in the mirror. She had been lying down reading her book for the last hour or so and her hair was mussed and slightly kinked from the way she had been lying on it. She smoothed it down and changed her clothes. They were a little casual for a date, she thought but then again, it had been a long time since she had been asked out, so how was she to know? She gave herself another quick once over in front of the mirror before stepping out into the room.

Mulder had been lying on the bed staring at the ceiling while he waited for Scully, he craned his neck to watch her walk out from the bathroom. There was something so unbelievably beautiful about seeing her in jeans, he could almost picture her walking around a house that the two of them shared with children running around her feet. He blinked the image away, best not to dwell on things that could never be. "You ready?" He asked her standing up.

She grabbed her purse. "Yep." She replied and they walked out of the room.

0000

They had grabbed dinner at a local steak house before taking a walk down Main Street. The dinner had been nice, casual even. But still more like to co-workers who were here on business than an actual date Mulder thought. "Tell me something about yourself." He said as they strolled together under a streetlight.

"Um, I hate Brussel sprouts." She replied with a laugh.

"No, tell me something real, something that people don't know about you." He said stopping to catch her eyes.

She looked up at him confused, where was this coming from? She felt somewhat uncomfortable with the question, but as she looked into his eyes she reminded herself that she could trust him. "Do you know why I joined the FBI?" She asked him.

He thought about it for a moment, he knew she had given up a promising career in medicine. One that she would have been very successful at when she finished school, and she wasn't the type of person to quit something because it was hard. "No, actually I don't." He replied.

"When I was in med school I had this teacher. A Dr Waterston, Daniel, and he and I were seeing each other." She said carefully. "We dated for a long time, he was the first person I ever considered, loving."

Mulder knew it must have ended very badly for Scully to have switched careers because of it. But he couldn't understand why she looked embarrassed, he knew she had dated teachers before. It wasn't like she was in high school. It was strange to hear her talking about love, a word that was almost forcibly never brought up by either of them. "And?" he asked gently.

"Well, he always treated me like a student first and a partner second, not that it was a problem. But, it was complicated." She sighed, why was she telling him about this?

They started walking again. "Its ok Scully, we don't have to talk about this if you don't want to." He said, moving his hand to his favourite spot in the small of her back.

"No its fine, I don't know why I'm embarrassed to tell you this." Her face flushed red and she turned it way from his. "It was complicated because, Daniel was already married." She said.

Oh, thought Mulder. Never would have guessed that, she had always been a pillar of integrity to him. It was strange to think her capable of that.

"I was young and, just so stupid. Part of me thinks it happened because I knew it was safe, that nothing would ever come of it. Because nothing ever could come of it." She said rushing though the words like ripping off a band aid.

"So, what happened?" He asked her.

"I was offered a fellowship at a private hospital, a substantial fellowship. I went to tell Daniel about it all excited and I found out that he had organized it for me. I wasn't offered it on merit, or worth. I was offered it because I was sleeping with my teacher and he had pull. I felt cheapened, and I knew that if I wanted to make something of myself I needed to get out. The next day I applied at Quantico and the rest is history."

So that moment actually created the integrity in her now, he thought. "And nobody knows that?" He asked her.

She shook her head, her parents didn't even know her reasons. "Missy knew, but now it's just you."

They walked past a small bar, Mulder stopped and gestured to it. "Do you want to get a beer?"

Scully nodded, after spilling her life story like that she could use one.

The bar was dark, but not dirty or dingy, she liked it very much. Mulder headed up to the bar to buy a round and she went in search of a table. She found an empty booth up in the back corner and headed up to secure it. Mulder followed a moment later with the drinks.

"Thanks." She said as he handed her the beer, he slid into the seat opposite her. "Okay your turn."

"Me? I am an open book Agent Scully, ask me anything." He said opening his arms out wide and smiling.

She laughed. "Okay, what's your favourite colour?"

"Oh, great question. No one ever asks that one over the age of ten." He teased. "Blue. What's yours?"

"Green, but not slime green, like deep moss green." She replied.

"Deep moss green, specific." He said taking a swig of his beer.

"Shut up Mulder." She said laughing. "Okay how old were you when you had your first kiss?"

"Twenty seven, his name was Steve." He joked.

"Mulder!"

"Okay, okay, thirteen with Patty Wilcock, under the bleachers at school. She was terrible." He said and she laughed again. He love to watch her laugh, her whole face lit up like the most beautiful thing in the world.

"And you?" He asked.

"Oh no, you already got one love story out of me that all you're getting for now." She replied.

He threw his hands up to his face in mock horror. "It was me, wasn't it? Dear Scully, waited to thirty six before being kissed. Just like Drew Barrymore."

She shot him a look. "You've seen Never Been Kissed?" She scoffed.

"What? Drew's hot." He said smiling.

She rolled her eyes, men! She thought. "Do you have any quarters?" she asked getting up from the table with her beer.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out some coins. He handed them to her with a curious look. But she just took them and headed over to the Jukebox. She looked at the selection and smiled punching in her song choice. She took another swig and headed to the bar to buy the next round. Mulder walked up behind her. "Music to dance to?" He asked her quietly, his lips pressed into her hair.

She spun around to face him. "Maybe." She said with a smile. "Tell you what Mulder, you beat me in a game of pool and I'll dance with you."

"What if you win?" He asked, she was so close to him he could feel the heat rising from her body.

She reached out and grabbed his arm. "Then we don't." She pulled a sad face.

He looked her up and down, she's so little he wasn't sure she could reach over the pool table. "You're on." He said.

She grinned. "You get the table I'll get the drinks."

He headed over to the pool tables on the opposite side of the room, fortunately there was one free. He had just finished setting it up when she walked over. "You want to break?" He asked her.

"No, its fine you can." She replied taking a sip of her beer.

I have this in the bag, he thought as he selected his cue, she didn't know that he had played quite well back in collage. He regularly won when he played in bars. He lined up his first shot, and sunk two balls in the break. He smiled as he lined up his next shot. "Corner pocket nothing but net." He said as the ball sailed into the hole. She clapped with an impressed look on her face. His next shot was more difficult and he missed the pocket by an inch.

"My turn?" she asked reaching out for the cue.

He handed to her trying not to laugh, it looked almost comical watching this tiny redhead wielding the cue that was obviously meant for someone a lot taller than her. She walked around the table studying the balls and angles before finding her shot. It went straight into the pocket, so did the next five. She used her last shot to set up two of the remaining balls to her advantage and handed back the cue.

Mulder stood there dumbfounded clutching his beer. She was already two balls in front of him, he needed to work hard. He lined up his shot and managed to sink one of his balls, the next one was tricky. In order for him to make the shot he needed to get her ball out of the way, he tried to put some spin on the white ball and just nick his ball on the side, but he over calculated sending his and Scully's ball into the pocket.

"Two shots." She said grabbing the cue, she didn't need them. It was all over before he could even finish his beer, and he still had four balls on the table.

"Come on Scully, you sharked me." He whined.

"You forget, I'm a navy brat. My brothers and I used to play every day in the rec rooms on base." She reminded him.

"Alright, so no dancing, what do you want to do?" he asked.

"I think, it's getting kind of late, and I'm tired. I just want to go to bed." She said.

He nodded. "Yeah, let's go back to the hotel." He agreed.


	34. Signs of Evil C8

March 9 2000 9:00 AM

Scully was enjoying a cup of coffee, thanks to Mulders efforts last night she was feeling much better about the case. She hadn't realised how much she needed some time together, since Charlie had moved in she felt like they were drifting apart. Last night made her feel special, wanted, loved? She still didn't know what that word meant. But it had been nice, and it was fun to whoop his ass in pool.

She looked up from her cup to watch him walk out of the bathroom. "I made you a coffee." She said gesturing to the cup next to her on the table.

"Thanks." He replied sitting down next to her and taking a sip. "I want to go and visit the Reverend again this morning."

"Why? He doesn't know where Donnie is." She replied.

"Yeah, but there more to it than that. We were called in to figure out how he got Pfaster and the others out. You've heard my theory, now I want to prove it."

"Do you think he's just going to tell you that he drilled a hole into his head so that he could hypnotise people better? Come on Mulder, be reasonable." She said rolling her eyes.

"Scully, this man will do it again if he isn't brought to justice. I don't know about you, but I would prefer to keep my criminals behind bars wouldn't you." He said staring at her.

"We've got him on obstruction at the very least, and aiding and abetting. That with his criminal history should put him away, at least for a while." She replied.

"Alright, I'll head out now to start the arrest." He said standing up.

She stood up and followed him out. "I'm coming with you."

0000

They arrived at the hospital after stopping off and the Marshals office and grabbing the paperwork for the arrest. But when they walked into the Reverends room, he was gone. "Where'd he go?" Asked Scully.

Mulder turned to the Marshal that was sitting in the room staring blankly ahead. "Marshal?" He called. Walking over to the man. "Marshal." He said again, gently tapping the man's face.

The Marshal came to startled. "What?" He asked.

"The prisoner, the man you were guarding in this room. What happened to him?" She asked.

Mulder was looking at the man's now empty gun holster. "He's gone Scully, so is the Marshals gun." He stepped back from the man. All the proof they had was in this Orison guy, and now he was gone. Just like every other piece of supernatural proof they have ever gotten, thought Mulder.

The Marshal stood up looking for his weapon. "You didn't see him?" Asked Scully looking up at the man. But he just looked around the room, presumably for his missing weapon. She gave the room a quick scan too, there was a piece of paper sitting by the bed.

"Let's go Scully." Said Mulder defeated.

He started to walk out, but stopped when he saw she wasn't following, she was walking towards the paper that she had seen.

She picked it up. _Don't look any further._ Was the only thing written on it. She felt her blood run cold

"What is it?" Asked Mulder.

She held it out to him. "What does this mean?" She asked.

He walked over and looked at it. "Did you tell him?" He asked instantly connecting it with the song that she had been hearing over the past couple of days.

"No, I only told you." She said shaking her head.

"Oh, he must have overheard us when we were talking in the hallway." He rationalised.

"I didn't mention the name of the song." She said thinking back, she was sure of it.

"I'm sure you did." Said Mulder trying to relax her. Orison was obviously trying to get into her head.

"No, I'm sure I didn't, Mulder." She was panicking now, but she kept her cool exterior.

"Well, maybe this was meant for you. Don't look any further." He said and walked away.

"What does that even mean?" She asked catching up with him.

He turned to face her. "It means you should go home Scully, there is nothing more you can do now." He said taking her shoulders.

She spluttered at him. Go home? Orison has vanished Donnie Pfaster is still on the loose, nothing has been done, and he wants me to go home. "Mulder I have no idea what that message is about, but I know it's not to give up. We will find the Reverend and we will charge him. Then we can both go home." She broke away from him and stalked down to the car.

His phone rang. "Mulder." He answered.

"Hi Agent, its Perkins, you'd better get down here there's been a development."

"What development?"

"We had a tip come in about some bodies in the woods, looks like they might be our missing inmates." Said Perkins.

"We'll be right there." Said Mulder and hung up. He ran to catch up with Scully.

0000

The Marshals were working out of the local Sheriff's Office, Mulder and Scully arrived there in record time. "What do we know?" Asked Mulder as they walked through the doors and caught sight of Perkins.

"We have a team out scouting the area from the tip, they should be calling in with conformation any second now." Said Perkins

"What have you got on the caller that gave you the tip?" Asked Scully.

"Jones team's working on that." Replied Perkins pointing to a dark haired man standing near a group of people working on computers.

Scully walked over to Jones leaving Mulder with Perkins. "Deputy Jones? Agent Scully, what can you tell me about the tip."

"Came in about twenty minute ago from a man, he didn't leave a name. We traced the number back to a Robert Orison."

"That's the man who your Marshals were supposed to be watching." She said exasperated. "Do you have a recording of the call?"

"Yes Ma'am" Said the Marshal. He tapped on one of the workers shoulders and shortly the recorded call was playing.

Scully felt sick the moment she heard it. "That's not the Reverend, That's Pfaster." She turned and walked back to Mulder.

"Oh, hey Scully we've got confirmation. Ready to find our inmates." He said as she walked up.

She ignored him. "You need to send a team of men over to Orisons place, now. Donnie Pfaster has been hiding out there." She said to Perkins.

The man paled and quickly rushed off to organise a team. Mulder touched her arm. "You okay Scully?" He asked tenderly.

"I'm fine Mulder, let's just see this grave." She replied. She was exhausted, mentally physically and emotionally. She just wanted this all to be over.

He nodded, he could see how weary she looked. They headed back to the car to drive out to this unmarked grave site.

They were halfway there when Mulder pulled over to answer his phone. It was Perkins. He had conformation that one of the bodies was the Reverend. He sighed and hung up.

"Looks like our Reverend is amongst the victims." Said Mulder.

"Are you sure?" Asked Scully.

"Well, we'll find out soon." Said Mulder pulling back onto the road.

When they got to the scene there was already people bustling around putting up crime scene tape and photographing the evidence. They walked through until they came to the open grave they were looking for.

They stared down at the man. "It's funny, when all is said and done, there's not much mystery in murder." Said Mulder

"And for that I owe you an apology, Mulder." She said turning to face him.

"What do you mean?" he asked her.

"Well, you were right. I was looking too hard for connections that weren't there." She replied thinking about the song and the note. Maybe she did say the name in the hall. Maybe it was just a coincidence like Mulder thought. "Orison was a murderer, plain and simple. He liberated those prisoners so he could bring them out here and pass judgement on them."

"I guess, in his own twisted way. He was making good with his God. Glory, amen. Let's go home, Scully." Said Mulder.

"You know, Donnie Pfaster placed the call to the police that led us out here." she told him. "It's almost like he's begging us to hunt him down." Maybe we should stay and help catch him, she thought. I'm ready, I feel strong enough now.

"This X File is over, lying dead there in a grave he dug himself. Let's let the U.S. Marshals take over from here." Said Mulder, she has been through enough, they don't need us, he thought.

She nodded, half in relief, the other half shame. Cat's out of the bag now, he's already decided I'm weak, she thought.

"Don't look any further, Scully." He said softly, quoting the song.

She looked at him sharply and then headed back to the car. He followed along behind her stopping to talk to Perkins.

"We'll send you our report." He said to the man.

Perkins nodded and went back to the task at hand leaving Mulder to walk back to Scully.

She was sitting in the car, the glazed look in her eyes was back, he noticed and sighed. He got into the car and they headed back into town. She didn't speak the whole way.

"Are you hungry? We could stop for lunch." He asked her.

She had been wallowing in her own misery, this case had irrevocably proved that she couldn't handle this job any more. That she was broken inside and useless. The worst part was, she couldn't even deny it. She had seen Mulder look at her with pity, that was something she couldn't handle. "No, if it's all the same I would just like to go home." She answered not looking at him.

He nodded and drove them back to the hotel. He wished she wouldn't beat herself up so much, plenty of good men and women would have broken dealing with the likes of Pfaster. But Scully was the best of them, even after he came after her she still stayed strong. She was incredible, but she was human. He wished she could see that her weakness just made him love her more. She was perfect because she was a whole person, and she made him feel like a whole person.


	35. Signs of Evil C9

March 9 2000 7:00 PM

It had been a long and awkward plane ride back to Washington, she had spent the entire flight wishing she could melt into her seat and disappear, while Mulder continued his attempts at small talk. She was so relieved when he left her at the airport. He hadn't even asked her if she would like to stay with him, that didn't surprise her, she was sure he wouldn't ask her again now that he knew who she really was. She sighed and drove the short distance to her apartment.

She flicked on the lights in her darkened home and shut and locked the door. She thought about having a shower but she was so tired, she headed to the bedroom to change out of her work clothes. Damn, she thought realising that she had left her bag in the car. She was so thankful that Charlie was out of town, she just wanted to be alone. She threw her dirty clothes into the hamper and grabbed out a fresh pair of pyjamas from her draws. After getting dressed she picked up her coat and walked over to her closet, but something caught her eye.

It was her alarm clock, 6:66 it read, again. She moved over to pick it up, but as she did her power suddenly went out. Fear shot through her body and she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. She looked around the room for an intruder and noticed her closet door was ajar. She knew she had shut it before they left three days ago. She took a deep breath, and then another, she knew what was hiding behind that door. Terrified she reached out to shut it but as she stepped towards it, it swung out hitting her hard. She grunted and fell to the floor.

Pfaster stepped out of the closet as she got to her feet. He grabbed her and shoved her at the wall, hard. She lost her balance and slid down but he was there grabbing at her again, she tried to fight him off but the fear was overwhelming her senses. All of her training flew out the window as he put his hands around her neck and pulled her up the wall.

He was choking her, she felt the panic in her body as it fought to get air. Oh god! He's going to kill me, she thought. _Concentrate Dana_ , called the voice in her head, _get him off_. She reached up her hands around his neck but she was too weak to break his hold that way. _Use your size to your advantage_ , called the voice again. She moved her hands up over his face and jammed her thumbs in his eyes. He released her and stepped back clutching his face. _You can do this._ She mustered up all of the force she had and threw a punch at his head, he spun round giving her a clear line of sight to her gun, still in its holster sitting on her mirrored dresser.

She ran to it and grabbed it desperately pulling at its holster, she turned around to shoot, as he picked her up and slammed her into the mirror. She felt the glass break against her back and the gun slipped out of her hand. He hit her against the wall again and again, she kicked out with her leg, connecting with her target he dropped clutching himself as she ripped her lamp up and hit him violently over the head with it.

He fell back grasping at the desk, _hit him with as much force as you have over the back of the neck, you need to incapacitate him._ Said the voice in her head, she did as she was told and turned to run. But she hadn't hit him hard enough, he snatched her leg as she ran. She turned around and kicked him, and then tried again. This time she pushed her heavy book case down on top of him for good measure.

She ran through the house to the phone in her front room and picked it up to dial 911, But Pfaster was right behind her. He picked her up and threw her to the ground on her front. She felt his weight as he sat on her back and pulled her arms painfully behind her. "GO BACK TO HELL!" She shouted as he tied her arms together behind her back.

He twisted her hand up sharply, Scully was sure her wrist would break. "Who does your nails? Girly girl?" Asked Pfaster.

"Let me go! The only reason why you're alive is because I asked the judge for life." She shouted at the man. "The only reason why you're alive is because we didn't kill you when we could." If I get out of this I will kill you, she said to herself. I will kill you.

"You're the one that got away." Said Pfaster, running his hands down her back. "You're all I think about."

She felt sick. "I'm a federal agent, you do anything to me, and they will not give you a break this time."

"I'm going to run you a bath." He said.

She screamed, he was going to rape her. He would rape her and murder her and cut of her fingers. His hand clamped down over her mouth.

He shoved a piece of stocking in her mouth tying in place around her neck. Then he dragged her into her ruined bedroom, pulling her into the closet and sitting her up. He crouched down next to her, so close she could feel his vile breath on her skin. She turned her face away in defiance. "Now be good, and don't cause me any problems." He said and stood up shutting her into the darkness.

She heard her phone ringing. Mulder! It had to be him. Please help me she thought to herself hoping that he would get the message. She shivered when she heard Pfaster turn on the radio to drown out the phone, it was that song again, playing through her radio, drowning out Mulder's call.

0000

Mulder hung up the phone and rolled over in his bed. He had a strange feeling ever since he got home that something wasn't right. When he had gone to set his alarm earlier that song that Scully had talked about had been playing. Something wasn't right, he sat up. He had this ominous feeling that something was wrong. Even if she was sleeping, Scully always answered his call.

He jumped out of bed and ran for the door.

0000

She rolled over in the closet and looked out underneath the door, she could see her gun lying on the floor amongst the broken shards of mirror. If she could just get to it. She awkwardly pushed herself against the wall and half slid half pushed herself up the wall. She took a deep breath and tried to listen for Pfaster, but she couldn't hear anything over the music. She reached for the doorknob with her bound hands desperately hoping he wouldn't be standing on the other side of the door. She opened it, he wasn't there. She moved quickly, shutting the door behind her and diving under the bed.

Moments later he walked out of the bathroom and through the bedroom. She held her breath and hoped that she was unnoticed. When he was gone she shuffled her way to the other side of the bed, from here she would be hidden if she stayed low. It was hard work but finally she made it. She rolled out from under the bed and started inching her way towards her gun. She was nearing the end of the bed when she heard the door open. She froze hoping that she was still hidden from view. After waiting to make sure the coast was clear she decided to try and get the bonds off her wrists. She twisted her hands and wriggled at the ties but it was no use, they were too tight and she just couldn't get any leverage.

She lay there thinking about what her chances of cutting off the ties with a shard of the mirror without accidentally cutting her own wrists were when he came back out and walked out of the room again. Less than a minute later he walked back through to the bathroom. She didn't know what he was doing, but she had an idea. Oh god, he's looking for candles. She thought sickly. She remembered the girl that he had picked up from the bus stop, he had decorated the bath tub with candles before he killed her.

She kept a lot of candles in her house, she had liked the smell of them, and the soft way they lit the room. Well, it will keep him busy for a while, she grimly thought. Did she have time to snatch a piece of glass and get back to her hide away before he saw her? She wondered. She shuffled forward another inch, and he stepped out of the bathroom. She closed her eyes and held her breath, hoping he couldn't see her. She didn't let it out until she heard his heavy footsteps on the wooden floorboards in the hall. She shuffled back, _you need to get your hands in front of you._ Said the voice in her head.

She twisted her knees up and tried to shove her arms back to reach her feet. It was no good, she couldn't reach. _Come on try again._ She took a breath and pushed her arms back as far as she could reach. She felt her weight shift to one side and fell on to her left side, landing heavily on her arm. She bit back tears and stopped when she heard the footsteps approaching again. After she heard him enter the bathroom again she managed to flip herself onto her stomach again. _You can do this._ She crawled back up onto her knees, her arm ached fiercely, and tried again. This time she managed to grab at her foot with one hand before losing her grip and falling on her face.

Eventually Pfaster stopped coming back out of the bathroom, and now she could smell the noxious odour of her scented candles blending in together. He was going to come for her soon! She took a deep breath and pushed her arms so far back she thought they might break. But this time she got a good grip on her foot. She pulled and wriggled until she had managed to get the ties over the foot. Then the next one, _keep going_ the voice urged her. With a final pull she was free, well half free. She lifted her arms above her head trying to relax the strained muscled and lay on her back. Just one deep breath was all she allowed herself before flipping on to her stomach to tackle the next problem. Now that she could see her hands she could use a shard of mirror to cut her bonds. She inched forward, and stopped. She could hear him coming out of the bathroom, he moved through the room quickly. As soon as he left she rushed forward, she knew that there wasn't much time.

She grabbed a large chunk of mirror and kept moving till she reached her gun. Sitting up she quickly cut through the stocking material he had used to bind her hands. The music cut off. He was coming now. She took a deep breath grabbed her gun and stood up. Her head spun for a moment but she ignored it and she walked out to meet her would be killer.

The scene she walked into was not what she expected. Mulder was in her living room pointing his gun at Pfaster. He was shouting something, she couldn't tell what. The only thing she saw was Donnie as he turned to face her. _He will try again,_ the voice told her. _You have to kill him._ She looked into Pfasters eyes, looking for some kind of humanity in them. But all she saw was evil.

She had already pulled the trigger before she realised what she was doing. She pulled it again, and again even after it was empty she couldn't stop. Pfaster fell and she looked up to see Mulder. He was looking at her in shock. Oh my God! She thought, realising what she had done. She dropped the gun.

She would have fallen but he caught her, he felt her limp in his arms. He half dragged half carried her over to the couch. After putting her down, he quickly checked her for injuries. She had a bloodied nose and cuts on her arms and neck. He picked some glass out of her hair and smoothed it back. He looked into her eyes, she had started crying. "Shh Scully," He said holding her. "It's okay."

"Mulder?" She whispered. Looking up at him. "What happened?"

How could he begin to tell her what he had just witnessed? He had caught him, and she had killed him, in cold blood. "It's okay Scully, you're safe now." She was shaking in his arms. "Let's get you cleaned up okay?" He said softly.

She nodded and he lifted her up, half carrying her into the bedroom. He looked around at the destruction of the room, it looked like a tornado had touched down in here. There was broken glass and books everywhere, a lamp sat crumpled up on the floor and her Knick knacks where strewn all around. He grabbed a throw blanket off of the bed and put it around her shoulders. He looked at his partner. She looked a little green. "You okay?" He asked.

She nodded. "The smell." She said pointing to the bathroom.

He sat her down on the bed and moved over to the window, opening it to get the smell of the scented candles out of the room. Then he opened the door to the bathroom. There must have been fifty candles in there, resting on every surface. The tub was full and still had an unbroken layer of bubbles on top. He walked around the room blowing out the candles, when he was done he headed back to Scully.

"We need to call this in now." He said softly brushing his hand along her cheek. "Are you ready?"

She nodded but didn't say anything. He reached over to grab the phone from the bedside table.

She sat there numbly as he called the police, I killed him, she thought, I really killed him. She blinked hard hoping that this was all just a terrible nightmare. But it was real.

After he got off the phone Mulder, pulled Scully up and out into the kitchen where she didn't have to see the devastation that had happened in her apartment that night. When they got to the room Scully reached out and took his hand. He pulled her into a hug, holding her so close he couldn't tell where they met. They stayed there like that until the police arrived.

"Agent Mulder?" Asked the detective as he walked into the apartment.

Mulder released Scully and they walked over to meet the detective.

"Agent Mulder, Agent Scully, I'm Detective Franks. I know you've been through a lot tonight, but I'm going to need some statements before I can release you." He said kindly.

They nodded to the man. "Whatever you need." Said Mulder.

Franks nodded. "Agent Scully, I'm going to have one of my Detectives and the EMT's check you over. Would you mind?" He asked waving at a female police officer and two medical staff.

"No, that's fine." She said quietly.

The female officer walked over. "Agent Scully, I'm Detective Williams. Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine." She replied.

"Okay, well, we just want to check you out so we can write up the report, is there somewhere quiet we can do that? Somewhere you can sit down?" She asked softly.

Scully nodded and directed them to Charlie's room. Mulder watched them walk into the room and shut the door.

"So, can you tell me what happened?" Asked Detective Franks.

Mulder turned to face the man. "I was concerned for Agent Scully's safety when I couldn't reach her on the phone, so I drove over here. When I arrived I found the deceased, Pfaster, in the living room. I went to apprehend him when Scully walked out of the room. He lunged at my partner and she shot him."

Franks nodded writing in his note pad. "Any idea what went on before you got here?" He asked.

"Pfaster is a convicted murderer who escaped from prison days ago, he was obsessed with my partner." Said Mulder.

"So, in your opinion he came here to hurt or kill your partner?" Asked Franks.

"He most certainly would have killed her." Replied Mulder.

"So it was self-defence?"

"Absolutely."

"Okay, do you have a number I can reach you on if I have any more questions?" Asked Franks.

"You can reach me, or Agent Scully at the Bureau." He said.

He took a deep breath, he had just lied for her, and he would do it again in a heartbeat. He heard the door to Charlie's room open and turned to see Scully walk out. "Excuse me." He said to the detective and followed her up to her bedroom.

She had already walked in and closed the door by the time he got there so he opened it and walked in. she was standing by the window. "If you want to pack somethings, we can get out of here." There was no way she was staying here tonight.

"Yeah." She said softly opening her draws. He moved up behind her, not wanting to be too far away from her. She didn't mind, mostly she just wanted to fall into his arms and never leave them again. She looked down into the draw, the Bible she always kept at the end of the bed was sitting there on top of the clothes. She pulled it out, it felt heavy in her arms. She was a murderer now.

"You can't judge yourself." Said Mulder looking into her eyes.

She scoffed and turned to move back and sit on the end of the bed. "Maybe I don't have to." She said turning the book over in her hands.

"The Bible allows for vengeance." He said, he knew how important her religion was to her and he wouldn't want her to feel like she was unworthy of her faith, now of all times.

"But the law doesn't." She said turning her head to look up at him, she had told the detective that she had shot Pfaster. She had told her the truth, that she didn't know how it had happened. Only that she had been holding the gun, and she had shot him.

"The way I see it." Said Mulder, leaning down next to her. "He didn't give you a choice." He caught her eyes. "And my report will reflect that. In case you're worried. Donnie Pfaster would've surely killed again if given the chance."

She shook her head. "He was evil, Mulder. I'm sure about that, without a doubt. But there's one thing that I'm not sure of."

"What's that?" He asked.

"Who was at work in me?" She replied. "Or what, what made me….. What made me pull the trigger?"

"You mean if it was God?"

"I mean…. What if it wasn't?" she thought about that voice in her head, the one that had told her to kill him. Would god ask her to do that?

Mulder shook his head. "You can't think like that, Scully. Do you believe that what you did was wrong? That it was evil?"

"I don't know." She replied.

"Do you think you're like him? Your evil?" He pressed.

"No, I'm not like him." She said firmly.

"Then you have nothing to fear, evil only works if you let it. You saved yourself, and countless other women. How could that be evil?" he reached out and brushed her face.

She closed her eyes and turned into his hand. "I just want to get out of here."

"Okay, where's your travel bag?" He asked.

"Oh." She remembered. "It's still in the car."

"Great, grab your jacket we will pick it up on the way out."


	36. Signs of Evil C10

March 10 2000 9:52 AM

Mulder slips out of the covers as soundlessly as he can, it had been a rough night for the petite redhead still sleeping in the bed. It had taken hours for her to feel safe enough to close her eyes, and then she had been plagued with nightmares. She finally fell into a deep sleep a couple of hours ago and he didn't want to wake her.

He crept out of the room and walked over to the coat Scully had left discarded on the couch the night before. He reached into the deep pocket and pulled out her cell phone. Scrolling through the contacts he found the number he was looking for. He hit call and listened to the ring.

"Hello." Said Charlie sleepily.

"Hey Charlie, its Mulder."

"Oh hey Mulder. What's up?" Replied the young Scully.

"Well, if it's not too much trouble I was hoping you could cut your New York trip short, there was an incident at Scully's place last night and I was hoping to get your help." Said Mulder nervously.

"Is Dana alright?" Asked Charlie worriedly.

"Yeah, she's fine. I can explain everything when you get here, can you come?" he said.

"Alright, that shouldn't be a problem, I will drive up today. I should get home tonight." Said Charlie.

"Great, call me before you get here, let me give you my number." He waited for Charlie to get a pen and rattled off his number before hanging up.

He quietly slipped Scully's phone back into her coat and found his own, he had one more call to make.

0000

Around an hour later, Scully stirred and woke from her dream. It was the same dream she had almost every night since her birthday. She and Mulder were dancing in a beautiful ballroom and he pulled her aside to tell her something. But she always woke up before he could.

She rolled over and opened her eyes, he was sitting up in the bed reading a book. He glanced down at her. "Hey sleepy head how are you feeling?"

She paused taking inventory of her swollen muscles and aches and pains. The damage wasn't too bad, she thought. Her lip still stang a little from a small cut on the side of it, and she felt stiff all over. But all things considered it could have been a lot worse. "I'm okay." She responded hoarsely. Her throat was scratchy from the shouting last night, and probably from the crying.

"Do you want me to make you a coffee?" Asked Mulder reaching down to stroke her face.

She shook her head and reached her arms around to circle him. She just wanted to stay in bed basking in the warmth of his skin and the comfort of his presence. They stayed together like that for some time. Until the need to expel her bladder forced her up and out of the bed with a groan.

When she walked back into the room he was gone. "Mulder?" She called walking out into his small cosy living room. She could see him standing in the kitchen mixing something in a bowl.

"I figured you were hungry, so I'm making omelettes.

She felt her stomach rumble in reply and tried to think when the last time she had eaten anything substantial. "That sounds good." She said perching on her favourite bar stool to watch him work.

When are we due back at work?" she asked him as he effortlessly flipped the mass of eggs.

He paused. "Monday I guess, but only if you're ready." He said cautiously. He glanced over to her.

"I'm fine Mulder, I'm just glad it's over now." She had been going over what had happened in her head, and had decided she refused to feel bad about what she had done. Mulder was right, he most certainly would have killed again. Why should she feel remorse for killing a man who had hurt her and others without compunction? It just made her feel angry, she pushed it aside refusing to let him affect her any more.

Mulder plated up the food and they ate in a reserved silence. After lunch Scully moved to wash up, he moved to argue but was distracted by a knock on the door. He opened it allowing the trio of unlikely friends to walk in.

"Hey Mulder." Said Frohike. He had stopped in the doorway while Byers and Langly had headed for the living room to set up the PlayStation they had brought with them. He turned to take in Scully as she stood by the sink, her hands submerged in the water. "Agent Scully." He said with a mock bow.

"Hey Hickey." She said with a smile shooting a look of annoyance at Mulder. "I didn't know you were stopping by today." She felt uncomfortable with the boys here and her dressed in her pyjamas.

"Yeah well, we have a new game we thought Mulder might like to check out so we figured we'd pop in." They had been given strict instructions by Mulder not to bring up what happened last night, when he phoned to invite them over.

She nodded, removing her hands from the soapy water and drying them on a towel. "I'm going to get changed." She said and headed into his bedroom where her overnight bag was still sitting by the foot of the bed.

Frohike couldn't help notice as he looked past her that the sheets were rumpled and it looked like she had slept in there. He didn't get much of a chance to see if perhaps Mulder had slept in there too as she quickly closed the door. He flicked him a curious look, but Mulder ignored him.

A few moments later she left the room dressed in a pair of jeans and a white tee shirt, she had run a brush through her hair and after eating, looked a lot healthier and happier. "So what are we playing?" She asked the Gunmen.

"We bought or a bunch, what would you like?" Asked Byers holding up a bag filled with games.

She grabbed the bag and went through the games inside. The boys tried not to sigh when she pulled out Crash Bandicoot. She could see the disappointment in their faces, but she hope they would see how little interest in first person shooter games she had, she got enough of that at work.

They settled in, Mulder and Scully sitting next to each other on the couch Byers sitting next to them, Frohike took the chair by the desk and Langly sat on the floor. Mulder had to make a conscious effort not to put his arm around her, as it was they were sitting so close together their arms brushed every time they moved.

It wasn't long before Scully relaxed and started to enjoy the company, the boys were happy to let her play, shooting bits of advice and jokes as she made her way through the levels. Mulders presence was a calming one, it felt nice to feel him by her side. They played for hours, she only relinquished control once after several failed attempts at a boss level. Langly blitzed it for her and dutifully handed the controller back, stating that it was more fun to watch her play.

It had just gotten dark outside and Frohike had moved to the kitchen to cook everyone some dinner when Mulder got a phone call. She thought it was strange how he answered and hurried out of the room, who could he be talking to that he didn't want her to overhear? He walked back into the room after hanging up but before she could ask him about it he had disappeared into the bedroom. The TV flashed black, she had been so distracted by Mulder's behaviour that she had walked into a TNT box. By the time the level had reset Mulder was walking out of the room, he had changes out of his sweats and old shirt into some jeans.

He looked at her guiltily. "I have to duck out for a while, but I won't be long."

"Where are you going?" She asked putting the controller down and standing up.

"I just have to take care of something, it's nothing I'll explain later, the boys will keep you company while I'm gone." He said walking over to the door.

Scully followed him. "Mulder." She said warily.

He turned to face her, putting his hands on her shoulders. "Scully, its fine. I promise I will explain when I get back okay? Trust me."

She stared into his eyes, trying to find some glimmer of untruth. But all she saw was a deep caring, and something else. Something that made her belly flip and her heart pound. She swallowed pushing the feeling down. "Alright, call me if you need me."

He wanted to lean down and kiss her, but right in that moment he was aware of three sets of eyes all trained on him. He looked up to see Byers and Langly still in the living room. Byers face was pink and Langly looked confused. He turned his eyes to the left, into the kitchen and caught sight of Frohike grinning like the Cheshire cat. He sighed and turned to the door, walking out without looking back.


	37. Signs of Evil C11

March 10 2000 8:30 PM

Mulder pulled up across the street from Scully's apartment and turned off the car. He looked out of the window to the U Haul truck that was parked out front. That must be Charlie, he thought. He got out and walked over to the truck, it was empty.

"Damn Charlie, I told you to wait." He said to himself before rushing up to the door of building.

He quickly pulled out his keys and entered the building, taking the stairs to Scully's floor two at a time. When he reached the third floor landing he ran to her door, it was wide open. He could see Charlie standing inside staring at the pool of dried blood on the floor.

"Charlie." He said startling the man.

Charlie turned to face Mulder with a look of horror on his face. "Mulder, where's my sister?"

"She's fine, she's at my place with some friends. It's not her blood." He replied calmingly.

"Not her blood….. What the fuck happened here?" Shouted Charlie.

Mulder walked in the apartment closing the door behind him. "Calm down." He said taking the terrified redhead by the arm and leading him to the dining room to sit down. "Sit down, I'll tell you everything."

Charlie sat, the fear was starting to subside and now he could feel the rage building up in him. How dare Mulder keep this from me! How dare he not let me see my sister! Who did he think he is?

"I wanted you to wait until I got here before coming in, so I could explain what happened." Started Mulder.

"Well, I'm here now, get to explaining. You can start with whose blood that is." Shot Charlie.

"It's a man by the name of Donald Pfaster's, he came here last night and attacked Scully. They fought and she shot, and killed him."

Charlie sat back in his chair. "Dana, killed someone. Here? In this apartment?" He couldn't believe it. She was so little. "And where were you?" He asked accusingly.

"I got here just as she shot him. I'm sorry Charlie, I never should have left her alone with Pfaster out there, I didn't think." Said Mulder guiltily. He felt awful, he should have protected her.

Charlie shook his scruffy curls. "Who was that guy? Why did he attack Dana?"

"He was a sick man, Scully and I helped put him away five years ago. But he escaped prison and came after her."

"And you left her alone? If you knew he was coming after her, why would you do that?"

Mulder bowed his head in shame. "I didn't know, I read him wrong. I thought she was safe, I had no idea he was obsessed with her."

Charlie took a deep breath, he was still furious at Mulder. But Dana was alive, and safe. "What do we do now?"

"I was hoping you could help me clean up, I don't want Scully to have to come home to that." He said gesturing to the dark pool. "And I thought she would want family around."

That shocked the man more than anything else Mulder had said. Didn't he know how much Dana needed him? Sure she hadn't really been forthcoming with him about her feelings, but he was her brother, he didn't expect that. But surely she had told Mulder how she felt. And even if she hadn't how could he not know? When the two of them were together it was like the rest of the world just slid out of focus. Charlie shook his head, sometimes Mulder was as brick headed as his sister. "Let's get started I guess."

They worked hard on clearing up all the shattered glass and broken Knick knacks from Scully's bedroom floor. Mulder noticed the Bonsai tree he had given her for her birthday had survived the carnage, safe on her bedside table. Charlie had run down to his rental truck and grabbed out a large mirror of his to replace the one that had been broken. Before too long the room was back to its immaculate self.

The bloodstain in the living room was harder. They tried soaking it in chemicals and scrubbing it hard. But even after a solid twenty minutes of scrubbing, the light pink pool was still visible on the floorboards. Another trip to Charlie's truck found a suitable rug to cover up the damage, and they both agreed that short of replacing the floor it was the best they could do.

They stood up, backs aching from the labour and headed into the kitchen for some iced tea. Mulder glanced at the clock, it was almost eleven. He knew that he wouldn't have much time before Scully started calling to find out where he was. He took a long swallow of the sweet drink and put it down on the bench. "I guess I should go get your sister."

Charlie looked at the clock. "It's getting pretty late, why don't you wait until the morning. That will give her more time to get used to the place before she goes to bed anyway."

Mulder nodded, the younger Scully made sense. "Well, I should be getting back to her anyway. Who knows what kind of stories the Gunmen have been telling her while I've been out."

Charlie laughed. He had met the Gunmen a few weeks ago when they had come by to do their usual sweep. He had liked the strange little men. They had some good points with their conspiracy theories, and he felt safer knowing they were checking his house. "Alright, tell the boys I said hi." He joked.

Mulder nodded and headed for the door. He turned as he opened the door. "Are you going to be alright?" He asked.

Charlie looked at the man surprised, he hadn't expected Mulder to care about how he felt. "I'll be fine, I mean it's a little freaky, but I'll live."


	38. Signs of Evil C12

March 10 2000 11:20 PM

As Mulder approached his front door he could hear laughter bubbling out, more specifically Scully's laughter. He smiled, glad the Gunmen had been able to distract her for a few hours. He opened the door.

"And it was a dog the whole time?" Laughed Scully.

"Yeah, Mulder had spent the better part of the day chasing after Sasquatch only to find out that instead of a hulking beast. A cute little Pomeranian had been the cause of the damage." Replied Frohike.

Mulder cursed internally, of course they were telling her stories about his stupid mistakes on early X Files. "All right enough of that." He said striding into the room.

Scully was in the middle of the couch wedged between Frohike and Byers, Langly had taken the office chair and was lazily swinging round on it. She looked up to see Mulder and promptly burst into another fit of laughter. "Oh Mulder, you were so cute back then." She said between bursts.

Mulder shrugged, pretending to be annoyed. "Okay boys, hit the road before you tell her all my embarrassing stories." He joked gesturing his thumb towards the door.

The Gunmen stood up to leave, saying their goodbyes to Scully. Frohike came to stand near Mulder. "Muldy, can I talk to you for a sec?" He asked quietly.

Mulder looked at the man and followed him out the front door. When the door was closed he turned to his friend. "What's up Hickey?"

"I'm not going to pretend to know what's going on between you and Agent Scully." He started.

Mulder opened his mouth to protest but Frohike waved him off. "Just listen. I don't know what's happening between you two, but its clear your more than just friends. Let me make this clear, Mulder you are one of my best friends. But if you hurt her, I will hunt you down and kill you. That beautiful young woman has been through enough pain already, so if you aren't serious about her stop now, before it gets too deep."

Mulder had listened carefully to his best friend and now he stared down at the smaller man intently. "I am more serious about her than I have ever been with anything in my life." He said simply.

Frohike nodded, and then broke into a large grin. He clapped Mulder on the back. "About time." He said and walked away.

Mulder stood in the hall watching him catch up with the other Gunmen in the elevator, thinking about what he had said. He was serious about Scully, and he would make it his mission to never let her get hurt as long as she kept him around. If only she was serious about him.

He opened the door to find Scully standing on the other side. "What was that about?" She asked putting her hands on her hips.

Mulder smiled and pulled her into a hug. "I think we are well and truly busted when it comes to the Gunmen. Hickey just gave me the big brother speech on hurting you."

She laughed. "Yeah that may have been my fault."

Mulder pulled back to look into her eyes. "How so?"

She broke eye contact looking down at her feet. "They told me that you gave them your porn collection. I may have reacted unexpectedly." She said slowly.

Mulder laughed. "What did you do?"

Scully sighed and moved over to the couch and sat down. Mulder followed and sat next to her, his hand resting on her thigh. "Well, Langly made a joke that he must have been seeing someone, and I went bright red and may have choked on my drink a little." Mulder let out a deep chuckle picturing Scully in that moment. "Shut up, it's hard to keep your cool when you're coughing up soda."

"It's fine Scully, that is, as long as it's okay with you?" He said trying to catch her eyes.

She thought for a moment, the Gunmen knowing about them wasn't too bad, after all Charlie and Ellen knew. It was only fair that Mulder's friends knew too. "I don't mind." She said finally, smiling up at him.

Baby steps, thought Mulder. He had already decided that there would never be anyone else for him except her. But with Scully finally acknowledging their relationship to others, he had hope that one day she would feel as much for him as he did for her.

Little did he know how much Scully care for him. It still frightened her, she genuinely though herself incapable of feeling love. At least in that way, but it scared her less every day. "Come on, it's late and I'm tired." She said standing up and pulling him into the bedroom.


	39. Signs of Evil C13

_Scully tossed and turned in her darkened room, she felt hot, like she was boiling. She struggled against the thick heavy blankets that swirled around her. She had to get them off her, she couldn't breathe. She tried to calm her panicked mind as she sought the edge of the blanket. She probed and pulled until, finally, she found the end. With a great pull, she wrenched back the covers that had her trapped in the bed. The sight that she uncovered made her blood run cold._

 _Thousands of candles lined every available space in her room. Each tiny flame came together flickering against the darkness to create a wave of sickening light that was too bright and too dark at the same time. Dark clouds of smoke hovered on the edges of her vision and the smell of burning wax choked her lungs. She gasped in horror and called out for Mulder. But she was alone in the large bed. She crawled to the edge of the bed and tentatively stepped onto the floor, cautiously stepping between the candles. Her bare feet burning against the hot wax that had dripped onto the floor._

 _She didn't make a sound as she slowly crept from the room, scared of whatever demons still lurked in the dark recesses. As she approached the door to the room her heart pounded rapidly in her chest, just two more steps and she was there. She took a deep breath and prepared herself for what was on the other side of the door. Slowly she turned the handle._

 _The door swung outwards and she squinted into the darkness that lay beyond. There was no telling what she would find in the darkness but if she did not leave soon the flames would surely consume her. She took a step, and then another. The further away from the candlelit room she went the calmer she felt. Suddenly the door behind her slammed shut, the noise startling her before leaving her in total darkness. She put her hands out to help guide her way and shuffled through the black room hoping to find a light._

 _"You're all I ever thought about girly girl." Said a whisper in her ear._

 _She twisted towards the voice hitting out with her arms, but she only found air. It can't be! She thought. And then the voice came again. "Five long years, and you're all I ever wanted." It said as it danced around in the nothing._

 _"You're dead." She spat. "I killed you."_

 _She felt a tickle in her hair, like spiders, or long slender fingers were running softly through it. She shook her head violently, bile rising up into her throat. "You're not real!"_

 _"You're the one that got away, but you won't get away this time." Called the voice. Fingers pawed on her pyjamas and she spun around lashing out. She found nothing._

 _It's not real, she thought. It can't be, it's not real, you're dreaming. "You can't hurt me anymore." She called her voice wavering from fear._

 _"Oh, I can always hurt you girly girl. We're the same now, I live inside you. You let me in, and now you have to pay."_

 _She screamed and ran into the never ending darkness. She ran for what seemed like hours, she ran until the air in her lungs burnt like fire. She thought the darkness would never end, until suddenly she could see an outline of a door. She rushed towards it ripping the door open and running in. When she looked up she saw she was back in her bedroom, the dripping candles still covering the room. She screamed in frustration, slamming her hands down on her legs. You have to wake up Dana. She told herself._

 _She was still doubled over panting when she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. She looked up towards the bed. Mulder! He was lying in the bed. She ran to him, knocking over the candles as she went and climbed up onto the bed._

 _"Mulder!" She cried embracing him. She stayed there half crouched on the impossibly large bed clutching him into her arms. She tried to take in as much of him as she could, the soft smoothness of his skin. The scratchiness of his five o'clock shadow. The smell of his aftershave. Anything she could do to take her mind of the horror of the room._

 _"Scully?" He said as he pulled her away to stare into her eyes. "Why?" He asked._

 _She looked at him confused and watched him cough up bright red blood. She lunged back trying to find the cause. He had six bullet holes in his chest, blood seeped out of them. "Mulder! What happened? Who did this?" She asked him._

 _He held her by the shoulders looking deep into her eyes, his eyes spoke of a sadness and despair deeper than she had ever seen before. He took a ragged breath and spoke. "You."_

 _She shook her head and looked down into her hands. Her right hand held the still smoking gun that she owned. "No!" She cried throwing the weapon down._

 _He fell back into the bed, instantly soaking the sheets crimson. In vain she tried to plug the ragged holes in his chest with her hands, but it was no use, he was already gone._

 _She sat back, staring at her blood-soaked hands. "No. No. NO!" she cried._

 _"We are the same." Called the voice from the shadows._

 _"No! I'm nothing like you! I would never hurt him." she screamed back._

 _"You would. You liked it." Taunted the voice._

 _Its owner stepped out of the shadows and she finally saw the face of pure evil. It looked like a demon of hell, black eyes and horns. "You will be just like me." It said._

 _No! She thought. I'm not you, I will never be you. She turned and launched herself off the bed and onto the monster, scratching and clawing at it. "I am not like you!" She cried._

 _The monster laughed a deep and ominous laugh._

Scully opened her eyes. She was tucked up in Mulder's bed. She let out a soft sigh of relief. That was the second time she had been visited by that nightmare, and she knew it would visit for a long time to come. At least she hadn't woken Mulder, she thought as she rolled over to stare at the sleeping man.

The sun was just peeking through the curtains and she could make out the soft curve of his lips. He looked so peaceful sleeping, childlike even. Like all of the weight he carried was gone. She inched closer, feeling the warmth of his bare skin against hers. She slung her arm around his chest resting her chin in the soft cleft between his ribs. He smiled lazily in his sleep and wrapped his arm around her but didn't wake. She took the opportunity to study the man who had become her life.

Was she capable of hurting him? No, it was just a dream. She tried to think about when he had become so important to her, when had she decided that he meant more to her than anything. It had been such a gradual thing she could remember ever consciously choosing it. It scared her a little, the strength of her feelings for him. Only because it felt so out of her control, she chose to stay with him. But did she choose to love him?


	40. Signs of Evil C14

**Hey beautiful readers, I just wanted to tell you that this might be the last chapter update for a few weeks. I am still writing and the story has a lot further to go yet, but I have some family drama in the real world that needs my attention more. I'm going to try and get back to the story as soon as possible, sorry.**

 **lots of love Angelsong xo.**

March 12 2000 6:15 AM

Mulder woke to see a pair of bright blue eyes staring up at him. "Good morning" He said with a smile.

"Hi." She replied. And rolled over. Coffee?"

"Hold on." He said pulling her back into his arms. "Did you sleep?" He murmured softly.

Scully blinked back tears, thinking about her dream. "A little." She responded quietly.

Mulder kissed the top of her head. "Good, I have a surprise for you."

She looked up at him. "Pancakes?" She guessed smiling.

He chuckled. "No, but I can make them if you want."

"Yes please." She replied and tilted her head up to kiss him. As soon as their lips met she felt a surge of heat through her body. He was alive, and he made her feel alive. She brought her hand up to caress his hair, and he tightened his grip on her waist. She broke the kiss breathing heavy. "So, pancakes?" She whispered looking into his eyes.

"They can wait." He replied pulling her back to meet him.

0000

An hour later Scully stepped out of the shower. She could smell the sweet scent of the pancakes and coffee coming from the kitchen. She grabbed her towel and dried off, before fetching her moisturiser from the cupboard under the sink. It was yet another item that had found its way permanently into his home. She couldn't remember if she had forgotten it one day and just bought a new one for home, or if she had left it there on purpose. But it was here now, and here it would stay.

She rubbed the lotion on her skin and combed her wet hair back into a scrunchie. Then she picked up her favourite tee shirt to throw on and headed out to meet Mulder in the kitchen.

He looked up as she walked over. "Good timing, their almost done." He said and handed her a coffee. He had put on an old and ripped pair of sweats that he used for pyjamas now, his top was still bare.

Scully looked him up and down, reliving the feeling of his bare chest she had felt not long before. "Good, I'm hungry." She replied.

He served her up a plate of the fluffy pancakes and made some for himself. She was a little thrown when he pulled out lemon juice from the fridge.

"You put lemon on pancakes?" She asked him.

"Oh Scully, you haven't lived until you try this." He exclaimed dowsing the cakes in the juice. He reached over to the sugar container on the bench and spooned out the white granules onto the top of the juice. Then he cut a small piece off and held it up for her to try.

It was strange, sweet and sour at the same time. She wrinkled her nose and he laughed. "It's okay, I'll get the maple syrup."

After breakfast he asked her to change while he showered. Once she had put on her pant suit, which was the only clean item left in her go bag, she wandered around the bedroom. Mulder was a lot messier than she was, he left clothes piled on the floor at the foot of the bed and books lay open on the floor. But he also kept keepsakes along his dresser and photos on the wall. There was a little league baseball trophy sitting at the back of the dresser with a layer of dust over it. As well as a photo of his family smiling up at the camera. They all looked so happy, and he looked so young, they had no idea of what was to come in the future. In front of the picture was a small plastic bracelet that a young girl might wear. Scully knew who that would belong to, so she didn't touch it. Next to it she found something that surprised her. It was a post it note, the edges of it curled slightly like it had lost the will to stick. She reached down and picked it up. **_My house 7pm?_** It read in her handwriting. It was the note she had given him on their first day back at work in the New Year. She smiled, she couldn't believe he kept that.

She heard the shower turn of and put it back down. A minute later Mulder walked out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist. She moved to sit on the bed as he dressed. "So, where are we going?"

Mulder steeled himself as he pulled on a tee from his clean washing pile. "Your place, you're out of clothes and we go back to work tomorrow, I figured you would want to go."

She blinked, she hadn't thought about home. It was stupid to think that she could just stay here, after all, she didn't live here, and Charlie would be back soon. But it had just been so wonderful the last day or so, it had completely dropped her mind, the horrors she would have to go home to. She gulped. "Okay, your right. I should go." She said not making eye contact.

Mulder walked over to the bed and cupped her jaw with his hand, pulling her face up to meet his eyes. "Scully, I don't want you to go. I just thought you might need some stuff. You can stay here as long as you want."

Why did he have to be so sweet when I'm weak? She thought. "I'm fine Mulder, I'll be fine." She said shaking him off.

Mulder stepped back and grabbed his running shoes and a pair of clean socks. He walked out to the lounge to put them on, mentally kicking himself. He tried to think about how he could have worded that differently, whether he should have told her that he and Charlie had cleaned it up for her. He sighed, it didn't matter how he had said it, there was nothing that was going to make this any easier.

Scully was mostly silent on the twenty minute drive back to her place. She couldn't shake the nightmare she had woken to, and she was irrationally frightened to come home and find her bedroom covered in candles. She knew it wouldn't be that bad, but she would still have to clean up all those candles in the bathroom. She didn't even know what it would look like, Mulder had blown them all out so she didn't have to see it. It was time, she thought. Pfaster is dead now, he couldn't hurt her anymore. But still she couldn't keep the feeling of dread out of her mind.

Mulder glanced over at Scully for the fifth time that minute, she was staring straight ahead and seemed completely oblivious to his presence. He hoped he had made the right call, getting Charlie home early and cleaning up her apartment for her. It might make things easier, but she might also take it as an invasion of space and privacy. There was no real way of knowing until they got there. He tried to tell himself that he did the right thing, but even so, he could shake the feeling of dread from his gut.

With heavy hearts they stepped out of the car after Mulder pulled up at the front of her building. He walked around to meet her and she reached out and took his hand. With a deep breath they walked into the building and up the stairs.

Her hand shook slightly as she unlocked the door, but the sight that she saw inside made her heart swell. There was no trace of the damage left from her attack. Charlie walked in from the kitchen and Scully let go of Mulder's hand to walk over and embrace her brother. "When did you get back?" She asked surprised.

"Last night, Mulder called me." He replied.

Mulder looked down at his shoes when Scully turned to look at him. "And you did all this?" She asked.

"Well, Mulder and I. he came by last night and we cleaned it up. You shouldn't have to come home to that." Said Charlie.

Scully looked around the room, there was a rug on the floor where Pfaster had been shot. She supposed they couldn't get all the blood out, but the rug looked nice, like it had always been there. "Thank you." She said, tear welling up in her eyes.

She kissed her brother on the cheek and walked over to Mulder, taking his hand in hers. "That's where you went yesterday? To do this?"

He nodded shyly, still not sure she wouldn't be mad. She reached up on her toes and kissed him softly on the lips. "Thank you." She whispered in his ear.

Mulder looked up at Charlie to see if the kiss had shocked him. But the taller Scully just smiled at him. Well I guess the cats completely out of the bag now, he thought smiling back at the man.

"We replaced you mirror with one of mine, but if you don't like it we can go shopping to buy you a new one." Said Charlie.

Scully, still holding Mulder's hand walked into the bedroom. Apart from the new mirror, you would never know what had taken place in here just two days earlier. The room looked immaculate, just like always. There were fresh sheets on the bed, and her Knick knacks were even back in the right position. She turned to look at Mulder. "How did you do all this." She said sweeping her arm around the room.

"Crazy glue and a good memory." He joked.

She smiled up at him. It unnerved her a little how much attention he paid, the fact that he could correctly place all of her things back in the right places. But that's what you get for having an eidetic memory. She took a breath and walked towards the bathroom, the door was shut. She reached down and opened it, stepping into the small room.

There was no trace of the candles, and there was a smell in the air of bleach or strong cleaning agents. The room looked spotless. Charlie had come up through the door that led to his bedroom. "We threw out all the candles, we thought you wouldn't want to keep them now." He said.

She nodded weakly. "Thank you." She said and turned to leave the room. It would still be a long time before she could go in this room without her skin crawling.

They walked back into the kitchen and Charlie put on a pot of coffee.

"I should go, let you guys catch up." Said Mulder awkwardly. He was glad that Scully wasn't mad at him, but now he just felt out of place.

Scully tightened her grip on his hand. She didn't want him to leave, she knew it was silly but she felt so much safer having him here.

Charlie had seen the fleeting look of panic on his sister's face before she had managed to push it down. "Stay for lunch at least. I'd like to catch up with you too. We didn't get much of a chance to yesterday."

Mulder looked at the older Scully and gave her hand a squeeze. "As long as you want." He replied.


	41. Misdirection 1

**I'm Back!**

 **thank you all for staying with me, its been a bit of a trying time at home lately, lot's of big scary changes that took me away from my writing. But I've FINALLY managed to carve out some time to write again so I have a bunch of new chapters heading your way soon. I want to say a quick thanks to those of you who messaged me while I was away, your support really helped. Also I just want to put it out there, I'm currently without a Beta, so if anyone would like to volunteer for the job I would appreciate the help. It would be nice to post something that doesn't have spelling mistakes in it and uses the correct** ** _your_** **for the situation. So if you feel up to it, send me a message! Finally as always please review, seriously you have no idea how much it means to me. Anyway, enough about me let's get back to Mulder and Scully.**

 **XO Angelsong**

April 6 2000 1:03 PM

"Come on Mulder, it's not even a case." Said Scully dropping the hazy photo's that depicted the so called Yeti of Jasper in Canada onto the desk. "It's a blurry photo someone took to drum up business."

Mulder looked up from the report he had been reading. He was sitting at his desk, Scully sat across from him wearing a frustrated expression. "Yeah, but have you ever gone skiing in Canada Scully?" He asked seriously.

She stared back at him, making it clear his joke was not funny. His face broke into that goofy half smile that she loved seeing and she couldn't help but smile back at him. "We are not spending company money to go on vacation." She said.

She could understand his boredom, they hadn't had a case in weeks. Unless you count the unsubstantiated vampire attacks on the cattle of Louisiana. Which had turned out to be a creative farmer trying to thin the herd of his competitors. Scully had spent a whole weekend slogging through mud and cow pies on that one. Her suit was still at the dry cleaners as they tried to get the dirt out of it, that had been two weeks ago.

Since then work had been dull. They had arrested the farmer for willful damage to property, so at least they weren't copping any flak from Skinner and the other heads for misuse of funds. "You're no fun, besides you would look cute in a snow bunny's outfit." He flirted.

"Mulder." She admonished, going slightly pink. She looked around the office pointing out with her eyes that this was not the place for that kind of talk.

Mulder paled, he had forgotten himself for a moment. They had been spending so much time together outside of work lately that he had felt like he was at home flirting over breakfast. Charlie had some big divorce case at the moment, lots of money, some of it hidden. Which meant he had been in the office until very late going over transaction histories and depositions trying to sort out what his client was entitled to. Scully had been visiting him after work for dinner at least four times a week, although she always went home before midnight.

Thankfully just then the phone rang.

"Mulder." He said picking it up.

Scully watched as his eyes lit up. We must have a case she thought, reaching over and putting the paperwork and photos from the Yeti sighting back in the folder. She got up and moved over to the filing cabinet.

"Great, can you send me the report?" Asked Mulder.

He hung up and turned to face her. "Fancy a trip to Hollywood?"

"What, they had Yeti reports there too?" She joked.

He smiled, he loved how much more relaxed she was now. It was like the weight of all of those walls was disappearing with every layer he broke through. "No, but it does sound interesting."

She put the file back in the cabinet. "What's it about?" she asked leaning against the closing draw.

"If I told you that it would spoil the surprise." He said jumping out of his chair and heading for the door. "You'd better go home and pack I'll pick you up in an hour." He called on his way out.

She sighed, it was so typical of him to run out only telling half the story. Hollywood, she thought. It could be anything. She headed for the door, grabbing her coat on the way out. She didn't bother with the lights, Mulder would be back to grab his things before he left.

She was stopped at the metal detectors by the guard. "Agent Scully, leaving already?" He asked.

"Yeah, caught a case." She replied smiling.

"Oh, where are you off to this time? More cow pies?"

She laughed. "Thankfully no, California. Hopefully it will be full of sunshine and free of mud."

The Guard nodded. "Half your luck, you two have fun."

"Thanks Frank, say Hi to Amy and Debbie for me." She said heading for her car.

"Will do!" The Guard called in response.

0000

Thankfully traffic was light and Scully made it home in record time. She walked into her apartment tossing her keys on the side table and her coat on the couch. She looked around her living room, the place looked so much warmer since Charlie had moved his things in. He had added touches to everything, from the rug on the floor which covered the stain of bad memories to the potted plants she now had on the table behind the couch.

She walked over to the hall closet where she kept her suitcases and was slightly annoyed to find that Charlie had moved them up onto the shelf to make room for some of his things. If she wasn't so vertically challenged it wouldn't be a problem, but as it was, she would have to get up on her toes to reach them. She contemplated grabbing a chair from the dining room, before deciding she couldn't take the indignity, the shelf wasn't that high. She reached her hand up as high as it would go, and after pointing her toes, she was able to reach the handle. She gave it a tug and to her surprise, the whole lot came crashing down on top of her. She fell into a heap on the floor, knocking the wind out of herself as she went.

Charlie came bursting out of his room with a baseball bat held above his head. He looked down to see his tiny sister lying on the floor with a suitcase on her chest and a panicked look on her face. It took him no time at all to work out what must have happened, and then he laughed. He laughed so hard that he dropped the bat and doubled over.

Scully went bright red and could feel the rage building inside. She pushed the suitcase off and stood up. "What's so funny?" She asked.

Charlie looked at Scully's face, he could see how mad she was, but that only made it funnier. He burst into new roars of laughter.

"It's not funny, this wouldn't have happened if you hadn't moved them in the first place! What are you even doing here? Shouldn't you be at work?" She shouted at him.

"I have a late meeting." He said between fits. "So I thought I would take the opportunity to catch up on some sleep. I was just about to get ready when I heard you."

Scully shook her head at him, she felt angry and embarrassed. She grabbed one of the cases and stormed into her room, slamming the door behind her. She could still hear his laughter echoing down the hallway.

She scowled and started throwing her things into the case. She knew she would regret not folding her things later when they came out all creased, but right now she couldn't care less. She grabbed out a light coat, hoping it wouldn't be too cool there. It was spring after all, but the way they travel, you have to be prepared for anything.

She walked into the bathroom, gathered her toiletries, and quickly left. She still didn't like that room. Charlie had no such problem, and in fact he loved that she had shortened her bathroom time down. He could now take a twenty minute shower and know that there would still be hot water.

She threw the toiletries bag into the suitcase remembering to grab her makeup bag from the dresser, she had been doing her make up in the mirror in her bedroom since the attack. After she finished packing her case she sat down on the bed and sighed. She was not looking forward to the hotel room stay that would accompany this trip. The nightmare that had plagued her since the attack had only gotten worse, she had woken Charlie every night she had been home with her screams and cries. So far, Mulder hadn't heard her. She was lucky with their last case that the small motel that they had stayed in didn't have two adjoining rooms. She had ended up on one end of the strip of rooms, Mulder on the other.

She should probably go and apologise to Charlie, he had been working so hard lately, coming home in the early hours of the morning to pass out in his room, only to be awoken by her nonsense. She got up from the bed and walked over to his door. He opened it moments after her knock. He was half dressed for work, dress shirt unbuttoned and only one cuff link on. "Hey Dane, what's up?" He asked moving back to his dresser to look for the other link.

"I wanted to apologise for shouting at you earlier, it wasn't fair. You have every right to move things around here, you live here too." She said looking down.

"Actually about that, I've been looking at some real estate lately."

Scully looked up horrified, she wasn't ready for him to leave. She opened her mouth to argue but he cut her off.

"Don't panic, I'm not going yet. I'm just seeing what my options are. The money from Jason just landed in my account the other day and it would make a nice deposit for a house." He reassured.

"Charlie, I'm sorry. I know you haven't been getting much sleep lately and that's my fault. But I just got you back, I don't want to lose you." How was she supposed to get used to living on her own again? He hadn't been here for long, but she couldn't imaging not having him around every day to tease her about her clothes and watch crappy old movies with.

"Dana, you haven't done anything wrong. Honestly, I stayed for so long because of you. But I need to find out if I can live on my own. I never have, I went straight from college to living with Jase. I'm thirty three years old and I've never been alone. Not to mention I know you haven't returned any of mom's calls since I moved here."

She wanted to argue with him, but he was right. She had been avoiding their mother ever since he got here. It wasn't that she didn't want to see her mom, she just felt like whatever move she made, she was betraying someone. She had promised Charlie that she wouldn't tell Mom that he was here, but she couldn't look into her mother's eyes and lie to her.

"She's your mother Dana, you need to talk to her. She loves you."

Scully looked into her brothers eyes. It amazed her that despite everything that had gone on between the two of them, he still wanted Scully to keep her relationship with their Mom. "I know, I'll call her when we get back from this case."

"And I promise I won't move out without telling you." Joked Charlie.

There was a knock on the front door. "That's not funny." Said Scully before walking over to let Mulder in.

"You ready?" He asked as he stepped into the living room.

"Yeah, I just got to grab my case." She replied walking off the bedroom to collect her things.

"Hey Charlie, how's things?" Asked Mulder as the taller Scully sibling walked out of his room.

"Good man, how are you?" Replied Charlie.

Mulder nodded. "Good." They stood there awkwardly for a moment until Scully came out of her room.

"Ready." She said and walked to the door. She stopped on the way to give her brother a hug. "See you when I get back."

"Later squirt." He replied.

They were almost out the door when Charlie called out for Mulder. He turned to Scully. "Meet you at the car." He said handing her the keys before walking back to the doorway that Charlie was standing in. "What's up?" He asked the man.

Charlie waited until Scully had turned the corner before speaking. "Listen, Dana won't want me to tell you this. But I thought you should know, she's been having terrible night terrors since her attack. I don't want you to worry if she starts screaming in her sleep. Just wake her up and remind her where she is, she'll calm down and go back to sleep. Half the time she doesn't even remember that I woke her."

Mulder nodded, he would have to keep a closer eye on her. He had no idea that it was still effecting her. "Thanks man." He said holding out his hand for Charlie to shake it. "I will take care of her."

"I know you will." Replied the tall redhead.


	42. Misdirection 2

April 6 2000 2:15 PM

As Mulder walked down the car he met Scully leaning against the driver side door. "What was that about?" she asked casually.

"Oh, nothing he just wanted to ask me if I was bringing my man purse on the trip." He lied.

"Uh huh." Replied Scully unconvinced.

"Well we'd better go or we'll miss the flight."

She stepped away from the door and around to the passenger side, handing him the keys as he sat down. "So what's this case about?"

Mulder started the car and pulled away from the curb. "A magician with a severed head."

"Neat trick." She replied wondering why they were handling what sounded like a routine murder.

"Ah but this ones got a literal twist." Said Mulder smirking at his joke.

"Oh, and how's that?"

"Before our magicians head disconnected, he managed to turn it all the way round 360 degrees."

Scully shot him a sarcastic look. "That's not possible, it was probably a trick."

"Not according to the witnesses." He replied.

"He was a magician, Mulder. The audience would have seen what he wanted them to see." She retorted.

"Well, we shall see." Said Mulder ponderously.

"Can I see the case report?" she asked.

"It's in the trunk." Replied Mulder apologetically.

Of course it is, thought Scully. She felt stressed about Charlie. "So, Charlie might be moving out." She said conversationally.

"That's good." Replied Mulder. "He needs to get out and live his life more."

"Don't you think it's a little soon?" she asked.

"Not really, I mean, he moved in what? End of January? He always said it was only temporary, and as I recall you were looking forward to him getting his own place."

"Yeah but it's only been two months, and he and Jason were together for eleven years. I'm worried about him going off on his own." She complained

Mulder glanced over at her. "He's a grown man Scully, I'm sure he wouldn't make this decision until he was ready, and besides, he could always come home if things didn't work out."

She sighed, he was right. Charlie was old enough to make his own choices, even if she didn't agree with them. Besides, she really only wanted him to stay because she didn't want to be alone.

The airport was close to Scully's house so it didn't take them long to get there. They had about fifteen minutes before the next flight out to L.A so they hurried to check in their luggage and get to the gate. Twenty minutes after they arrived at the airport they were in flight. Scully had the case file open on her lap, the headless magician had apparently preformed just that morning at the Santa Monica Pier before somehow managing to have his head cut off in the space of five minutes. She could see from the photos of the scene that there was very little if any blood, and she did admit the case was strange. She was excited, it felt good to be working on a real X File again.

Mulder was busy fiddling with his diskman, he had just bought a new album and was flipping through his favourite tracks. Scully looked up with interest closing the case file. "What are you listening to?"

Mulder removed his headphones and handed them to her. "Fleetwood Mac." He said.

Scully listened to the music coming out of the small speakers. "Rumours?" She asked.

"It's their greatest album, did you know they weren't even talking to each other when they wrote that. They only talked about the music, that's an artist."

Scully nodded, she agreed. It was their best work. She sighed as the stewardess walked around offering coffee and soda to the passengers, it was going to be a long flight.

0000

After they had arrived in LAX and collected their luggage, they headed over to pick up a rental car. Mulder looked at the choices and smiled. It was only a fifty dollar excess to rent a convertible for their stay, he pointed to the picture. "What do you say Scully? Want to cruise around town with the top down?"

She looked at the convertible he was pointing to and rolled her eyes. All she could picture was her hair looking like a birds nest and bugs in her teeth. "Mulder, really? Just get the sedan."

He looked over to her, judging whether or not it was worth arguing about it. Probably not, he decided and started the paperwork for the generic sedan.

He had decided to take the scenic route to the Pier driving past Venice beach. He and Scully stared out the window at the beach goers. It was early afternoon, and the beach was full of tourists and surfers. Everybody looked so happy, Mulder turned to Scully. "If you want, when we finish at the pier we can come back her for dinner." He said casually.

Scully smiled back at him. "That sounds nice."

They drove on towards their destination. Mulder was only somewhat surprised to find that the majority of the pier was still open to the public. They drove slowly through the masses of people towards the back of the pier where their crime scene lay. He pulled up near a police car and they got out.

There were two small groups of officer milling around on either side of the scene. Scully looked up at Mulder. "Divide and conquer?" she asked.

He nodded and headed to the officers on the right while Scully walked around the van to talk to the others.

"Afternoon." Said Mulder flashing his badge at the officers. "Special Agent Fox Mulder with the F.B.I, who was the first on scene?"

A tall dark man in uniform put his hand up. "I was sir."

Mulder nodded at the man. "Can you tell me what happened?"

"Well, it's just as you see, the van was parked right there. The event manager left the deceased in the van to go and collect his money. When he came back a few minutes later, he found him sitting there with his head cut off."

"And he's sure he was only gone a few minutes?" he asked.

"Yes sir." Replied the officer.

Mulder looked around. "Were there any other witnesses?"

"It's a pretty secluded part of the pier, and it was still early in the day. We did however get this." Said the officer reaching into the police car to pull out a video camera.

Mulder took the camera and hit the playback button. It was the magician doing his act. He shrugged at the officer, wondering why the officer looked so amazed. The magician was doing some basic cup and balls tricks, he also sounded like Mulders seventh grade history teacher, he noted with a chuckle.

"Just wait, keep watching." Said the officer.

Mulder watched as the magician continued to underwhelm his audience. At least, the heckler at the front was underwhelmed. But then something amazing happened, the magician turned his head three hundred and sixty degrees round. He blinked at the tape. He had read it in the report, but seeing it, well, that was something else. "This isn't doctored?"

"No sir, everybody who was at the show saw it."

Mulder handed back the camera and grabbed out a large photo of the scene. It was the photo he had been sent that morning and he wanted to make sure that, other than removing the body, nothing had been touched yet.

He stepped back, outside of the police tape and held the photo up. Nothing had changed really, well apart from the body in the van and the head on the boardwalk. He walked back in to take a closer look at the driver side of the van. Scully saw him walk over and headed to the passenger side.

"Neat trick, huh?" Asked Mulder, recalling Scully's comment from earlier.

"I can think of an even neater one." She replied, her mind wandering towards the idea of the two of them strolling hand in hand down Venice Beach. She smiled at the thought, and put her mind back on the task at hand. "How you convinced me to drop everything and get on the first plane to Los Angeles."

"Come on Scully, this isn't intriguing enough for you? A magician turn's his head completely around 360 degrees, to the delight of young and old alike. After which it plops unceremoniously onto the pier." He held up the picture he had been looking at. "See the picture?" he said pointing to the severed head lying on the ground.

"Yeah, I saw the picture, and as for this Amazing Maleeni turning his head all the way round, like you said Mulder, neat trick." Replied Scully flatly.

"But?" He pressed.

"But." She replied walking around the front of the van to stand next to him. "I'd guess this event was completely removed from the subsequent murder."

"You think this was a murder?" asked Mulder. Maybe it was a magic trick gone wrong. He had watched the tape and heard what Maleeni had said. No one had ever survived this trick.

Scully looked at him in confusion. "Don't you?" He gave a slight half shrug. "Mulder, his head was cut off." She exclaimed.

"Ah but, observe the nearly complete absence of blood." He replied pointing out the unmarred car seat. "Observe the paucity of fingerprints, as evidenced by the LAPD's liberal use of lycopodium powder." He pointed out the large splotches of the dark inky powder that coated the door handle and surrounding area. He was smirking now, he felt like a magician himself, directing his audience to the riddle that only he was able to unravel.

"Why are you talking like Tony Randall?" She asked.

He ignored her glib remark and continued. "Know that the Amazing Maleeni was alive one moment and expired the next." Scully was looking at him like he was crazy. "Know also that no one saw his fleeing attacker, nor heard the dying man's cries." He finished feeling proud of his speech.

"Mulder, I admit that I don't know _how_ it happened, but I still say it was a murder."

He looked away disappointed, he was hoping his stirring speech would have swayed her to the possibility of another option. I guess I'll have to fight for this, he thought.

Scully watched as his face turned away in disappointment. Well, what does he expect? She thought, people don't go around cutting their own heads off, what other explanation could there be? "So what's _your_ theory?"

"A magic trick gone horribly wrong." He said and watched her raise her eyebrows. "One that claims the lives of all who attempt it." She was looking at him like he was crazy, he needed proof. "Can I see that camcorder again?" He called out to the officer. He walked over and took it as the officer handed it to him. "Thank you." Scully still stood by the van so he walked back turning on the camera as he went. "A tourist videotaped Maleeni's performance. Look at this" he said holding up the view window for Scully to see.

Scully watched as the image sprang to live. It was the dead magician, he was standing on stage. He looked to have just finished a trick. "That ain't old school, that decrepit!" Shouted a man in the audience. "Show me something!"

"Who's the heckler?" Asked Scully.

"I don't know." Replied Mulder. He fast forwarded the tape and then hit play, Scully watched in wonder as the magician did indeed turn his head completely around. "Neat trick, huh?"

She scoffed. "Hang on a second, let me see this." She said taking the camcorder off him. She watched as the heckler turned and walked out of the shot throwing his soda cup in the bin on the way. "That heckler was pretty hard to impress, wouldn't you say?" she showed the footage to Mulder. "Look, and then he just takes off in a huff."

"What, you think he's a murderer?" He asked jokingly.

"Well, it's worth checking out, don't you think?"

"Hmm, well that would be a trick in itself. You never see his face." He said confused.

"Ah but observe." She said rewinding the tape to watch the heckler walk off again. "His discarded soda cup. The hand may be quicker than the eye, but it still leaves fingerprints."

"Ah, provided they haven't dumped the trash." Teased Mulder.

Scully looked him up and down. "Skeptic." She said and turned to go find the trash can in question.

Mulder smiled and followed behind her. Perhaps it was the sunshine, or just the thrill of being on a case again, either way, she seemed happier. He caught up to her as she was pulling on a pair of rubber gloves, the half empty trash can stood three feet away. "Looks like we're in luck." She commented, noting that the can hadn't been emptied.

"Yeah, but you still have to find the right cup." He replied.

She rolled her eyes and walked over to the can, the soda cup in question was right on top, next to a half-eaten hotdog and what looked like the gloopy remains of an ice cream. She gingerly removed the cup, trying not to touch it too much, partially because she didn't want to compromise the fingerprints, and also because it was gross. She smiled to herself, dead bodies didn't bother her at all, but the thought of touching a greasy mustard covered cup turned her stomach. It was a strange world.

She held it out to Mulder as he grabbed out an evidence bag to put it in. Then they walked back to the officer he had been talking to earlier. "Can we get this dusted for prints and run it through IAFIS as soon as possible?"

"Yes sir." Replied the officer.

"Great, here's my card let me know when they get back to you." He said handing the man his business card.

He and Scully walked back to their rental car and got in. "So, what now?" he asked her.

"I'll call the morgue and see if we can get a look at this magician, do you want to find us a hotel on the way?"

"Alright." He replied and took off.

She pulled out her cell phone and a scrap of paper with the details of the morgue. After dialling in the number she patiently waited for the call to be answered.

"Los Angeles County Morgue, Sarah speaking."

"Ah yes, Agent Scully with the FBI, you had a body come in this morning from the Santa Monica Pier, I was wondering if I could come in and get a look at it."

"Just a minute." Came the reply. Scully heard the sounds of shuffling papers and someone coughed in the background. "Agent Scully? Yes that would be a Mr Pinchbeck correct?"

"Yes, when can we come in and do the autopsy?"

The woman sighed. "It might be a while I'm afraid, there was a bad accident up on the highway and the medical examiner is tied up with that at the moment."

"Actually I'm a medical doctor, if you can provide me with a bay, I can perform the autopsy myself." She replied.

"Yeah, see the thing is, we don't have a bay right now. Can you come in tomorrow? This should be all done by then. I'm sorry Agent Scully, it's going to be a long day for us."

Scully let out a small sigh of frustration. "Okay, I'll call back in the morning to organise a time to come in."

"Thank you Agent, we appreciate your patience."

She hit the end call button and turned to Mulder. "Well, we're free for the night, the morgue is backed up at the moment and they can't fit us in until the morning."  
Mulder had been tapping out a rhythm on the steering wheel, he turned to look at her. "Well alright then, let's check in and grab some food, I'm starving."


	43. Misdirection 3

April 6, 2000, 4:15 PM

They checked into their standard looking motel 6. Much to Scully's disappointment they not only had rooms right next to each other, they were adjoining. Oh well, at least the door was locked, she thought as she dropped her suitcase onto the bed. She could hear Mulder moving about next door loudly, she heard a banging noise followed by. "Ah fuck." And laughed.

"You alright in there?" She called out.

"Yeah, I tripped over the rug." He shouted back to her, he could hear her snickering. "I'm going to take a shower."

"Okay." She replied, still smiling. She opened up her case and her good mood evaporated. She had forgotten that her clothes had been stuffed inside haphazardly. She shook them out as she pulled them from the case, they were going to need and iron. The shower went on next door and she could hear it clearly, it was going to be a long night, she thought. She pulled out a pair of jeans and a nice button up top that Charlie had bought her and laid them out on the bed. The rest of the clothes she pulled out and hung up in the bathroom, hoping the steam would pull out some of the creases.

She was wondering if she still had time for a shower when she heard the water turn off in her partner's room, guess not, she thought with a sigh. Instead, she went and pulled on the clothes she had laid out and checked her reflection in the mirror. She looked tired, her eyes were a bit puffy. But it was hardly noticeable, so she ran her fingers through her hair and went to pick up her bag. She had just walked out the door when Mulder met her. "Hey, I was just coming to get you. Ready to go?" He asked.

She turned to look at him, he was wearing light washed jeans and a white tee. How does he make that look so sexy? She wondered. He had a goofy half smile on his face and his eyes lit up when she smiled. "Yeah, where are we going?"

"I thought we could just go for a drive and see what leaps out at us." He replied. He looked her up and down, she was wearing dark jeans that were tight in all the right places, and a light blue button down top that brought out the colour of her eyes. She looked a little tired but based on what Charlie had said that was to be expected.

They got in the car and drove down towards the beach, she stared out the window at the water enjoying the smell and sound of the waves. He watched as the afternoon sun glistened in her hair, making the red locks look like they were on fire. He couldn't take away the dreams or the pain of what she had suffered because of him. But he could make her happy, even if only for a while.

He found a park near the beach and they got out. They walked together, almost close enough to touch but not quite. He wanted to reach out and hold her hand, but he was worried about her rejection. Well, there's only one way to find out, he thought to himself and loosely clasped his hand in hers.

She glanced at him for a moment and then readjusted her grip, entwining their fingers. His hand felt nice in hers and besides, they were in California, dressed like normal people, who would know? They walked together along the stone path by the shore, enjoying each other's company in silence. Eventually, they came to a small hole in the wall restaurant. It looked dingy from the outside, there were no windows or signs, no way of knowing what it was like. But as they went inside they were transported to a beautiful Moroccan palace, with heavy fabrics draped on the walls and ceilings. There were pillows everywhere and instead of dining tables people sat on cushions around coffee tables and there was a strong smell of spicy incense in the air.

A small man in an oversized white shirt that went down to his calves came up to them. "Hello, table for two?" He asked them.

They looked at each other and shrugged. "Sure." Replied Scully.

The man took them over to a secluded table in the back, sheer fabric separated them from the rest of the diners. They sat awkwardly on the cushions, Mulder felt uncomfortable being so close to the ground with the waiter looming over them. He looked over to Scully for reassurance and she smiled back at him. "Can I interest you in some drinks? I recommend the sangria." Said the waiter.

We probably shouldn't drink, we are on a case, after all, thought Scully. She looked to Mulder to see what he, though, and watched as he gave her a tiny shrug. "Oh, one won't hurt. Yes please." She said.

The waiter nodded and left them to peruse the menus. "So." Said Mulder awkwardly. "This is some place, huh."

Scully looked around, it was quiet and intimate here, and it had an exotic feeling. "I like it." She replied.

They checked out the menu trying to discern what the food was. "What's Kefta Tagine?" Asked Mulder trying to sound out the words.

"I have no idea." Replied Scully with a laugh. "Let's try it and find out."

The waiter came back with a large pitcher and two glasses. "Are you ready to order?" he asked as he placed the glasses down and poured the heavy red liquid in them.

"We'll have the Kefta Tagine." He replied.

"Very good." Said the waiter and left.

Scully picked up the glass of sangria. "Cheers." She said in a mock toast.

Mulder clinked his glass against hers and took a sip of the red liquid, it was rich in flavour, with a strong cinnamon taste. He liked the way the citrus made his tongue tingle. "This is good." He said.

Scully agreed, taking a long sip. They engaged in awkward small talk about current events and work while they waited for their food, every minute in this small intimate restaurant felt more and more like a date. Thankfully, because it was so early, their food arrived quickly.

Mulder let out a breath of relief when he saw what looked like meatballs and eggs in sauce, he served them out a bowl each. "Alright, let's try this." He said cautiously.

He shouldn't have worried, dinner was wonderful. As they both settled into the soft cushions after enjoying the meal Scully thought about the strangeness of the case that they were on. It was no stranger than any other case she supposed, but that in itself made the whole thing so ridiculous.

Mulder was pouring them both another glass of the crimson liquid, he was going to have to order another soon when he heard a soft bubble of laughter come out of his partner's mouth. "What's so funny?" he asked.

She took a sip of the sangria, this is going straight to my head, she thought. "Nothing, I was just thinking about the case."

"And that's funny?" he asked, a bemused expression crossing his face.

"Come on Mulder, a man's head spun completely around and fell off like the screw top of a beer bottle. Don't you think that's just absurd?" She said laughing.

He couldn't help but smile at her, that laugh was infectious. "I suppose so, what's your point."

"Just that, we lead very strange lives. If I knew what my life would be like now ten years ago, I never would have believed it."

He stopped smiling if she knew what her live would have been like she would never have chosen it. He took a long gulp of his drink, almost emptying the cup. Thankfully he was saved from having to answer her, by the waiter coming to clear the table.

"Will there be anything else sir? Desert? More drinks?"

Mulder looked over to Scully to see if he should order another pitcher, but he could see her face starting to get a little red from the alcohol and knew they should probably stop. After all, they were here on a case. "Just the check please." The waiter nodded and headed off to write up the bill. "So it's still early, what do you want to do now?" He asked her.

The heavy drink had definitely gone to her head, and she just wanted her bed. "To be honest, I would just like to go back to the hotel and sleep if we can."

"Your wish is my command." He joked and pulled himself up off the floor. He reached down to help her stand and she laughed when he pulled her into his arms.

Hand in hand they walked over to the counter to pay for their meal, Scully was surprised to see Mulder pull out his personal credit card to pay, rather than the company one. She caught his eye and gave him a look of curiosity. He shrugged and gave her a smile.

To Scully the drive back to the hotel seemed to take forever, and no time at all. She was thinking about Mulder paying for the meal. Was that our first date? She wondered it seemed so strange to her how much significance could be put on a single act. She turned her face to study him, he was watching the road with extra care, probably because he'd had a few drinks. But at least he didn't seem to mind her staring at him. His eyes had new smile lines she noticed, and wondered if that was because of her. He always had those worry lines on his forehead, even when he was completely relaxed. Her eyes trained in on his lips, they were so full, fuller than hers, and soft. She stifled an urge to reach out and brush her fingers over them. She sighed and turned her face back towards the road just as he reached out and took her hand in his.

He smiled as she gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. Tonight had been their first real date, in public, like a real couple. He knew it was a date from the second she had laced her fingers through his on the beach. Sometimes he truly wondered how he had gotten lucky enough to have her in his life.

After they pulled up at the hotel he walked her to the door, still holding hands. They stood facing each other and he brought his hand up to brush a strand of hair that had blown into her face back into the rest of her locks. "Well, good night."

He turned to head back to his room next door but she pulled on his arm, forcing him to turn back and look at her. "Stay with me tonight?" She asked shyly.

Wordlessly he nodded and she unlocked the door for them to walk through together


	44. Misdirection 4

**Hi guys, as always please review! Also, a HUGE thank you to Debbyrizzo for helping me beta this chapter. you are the best!**

 **ox Angelsong**

April 7, 2000, 7:00AM

Scully woke to the feeling of a warm body pressed into her bare back and blinked sleepily. She checked the alarm clock on the nightstand, it was 7AM. She had managed to sleep through the whole night without the nightmare and, for the first time in almost a month, she actually felt well rested.

She stretched out and felt strong arms circle around her waist. "Morning." Said Mulder huskily in her ear. He couldn't remember the last time they had woken up together, but it somehow felt like coming home again, like right here was where he belonged. He softly kissed the back of her neck, and she shivered at the connection.

Then came the sharp trill of Mulder's cell phone which had been left in his discarded pants pocket. With a groan, he rolled over and reached down to pick it up. Scully felt the sudden cold on her back as a reminder of his presence there moments before.

"Mulder." He said into the phone.

"Hi there Agent Mulder, its officer Brinkley from LAPD we got a match on those fingerprints you wanted. You know, the ones from the cup."

"You're kidding, hold on let me get a pen." He said throwing back the covers and crossing the room to the small desk. "Okay, what do you have?"

"It's a man by the name of William LaBonge, goes by Billy. He did a nickel down in Metro eight years ago for pickpocketing, but he's kept his nose clean since then."

"Do you have a location for him?" He asked while writing the name down.

"Yeah, he lives out of a crappy apartment up in North Hollywood. But you'd be better off finding him at work, that's at the Tea Room on Victory Boulevard. According to his parole officer, that's where Billy spends most of his time."

"Thanks." Replied Mulder hanging up the phone. He turned to look over to his partner, who had just sat up in the bed and was busy rubbing the sleep from her eyes with one hand, while the other covered her exposed torso with the sheet. "Hey Scully, want to go see a magic show?"

"What I want is a coffee and a shower." She replied smiling.

"Okay, you shower and I'll bring the coffee." He said pulling on his pants and gathering his things.

She laughed as he ducked out of the room still holding his shirt and shoes, while she hopped out of the bed, heading for the shower.

She let the hot water roll off the back of her neck as she stood in the shower. It felt strange to her, being so relaxed. She closed her eyes and felt her heart swell at the image of Mulder that had formed in her mind. Could she have managed to forgo the nightmare because he stayed with her, she asked herself, or maybe it was simply the sangria. She hoped it was the latter, it was bad enough that he visited her every night in her dreams, both good and bad. She didn't want him to be that responsible for her happiness. Because if he was, it would hurt that much more when he swept her aside, she reminded herself.

None of his priorities had changed, even now that they were together. He would always put the X-Files first. He had no time for anything else, not really. She could stand there under the water all day, dreaming about the two of them settling down and raising a family together. But it would never happen. He would always be swept up in government conspiracy's and searching for Samantha, and she would always come second. It was becoming harder and harder to rationalise her feelings away. Every day she edged closer and closer to that precipice and she knew one day she would need to make the choice: leap to her death, or run in the opposite direction.

She heard the front door open and Mulder call out. "Scully? I'm going to shower, I left your coffee on the table."

"Thank you!" she called back and heard the door close as he left. She turned off the water and grabbed the towel.

After drying off she chose a dark blue shirt and a black pencil skirt to wear. Most of the creases had come out of the shirt and the rest she could cover with a blazer.

Twenty minutes later she was headed out the door, coffee in hand. She met Mulder outside. "So where are we going for this magic show?"

"North Hollywood, the Tea Room. Ever heard of it?" he asked. She shook her head. "Well, it's about a half hour from here, are you ready?"

They got in the car and headed for the Tea Room. They almost drove past it when they got there, it was an old dilapidated building next to a discount mini mart. But sure enough, on the faux theatre awning said the words SAT. /SUN BILLY LABONGE. Mulder pulled up out front and they headed inside.

The man they were looking for was standing onstage with his back towards them. He looked to be practising his act for that coming weekend. They walked up to him. "Mr. LaBonge?" Asked Scully. "We're agents Mulder and Scully from the FBI." She and Mulder pulled out their badges to show him but he didn't seem all that interested. He was fiddling with a packet of playing cards, laying them out and then shuffling them. "Were you at the Santa Monica Pier yesterday morning?" She asked him.

Billy looked thoughtful for a moment. "Yeah." He answered, going back to fiddle with his cards.

"You attended a magic show. The Amazing Maleeni." Said Mulder, he hated guys like LaBonge, the ones who couldn't even have the respect to look at people when they were talking to you.

"Yeah, he sucks. Why?"

"He's dead." Replied Scully. "Under extremely suspicious circumstances."

Billy still hadn't stopped playing with his cards. "He still sucks." Was the only answer they got. "How'd you find me?"

"Your fingerprints. You have a criminal record." She answered hoping to get a rise out of the young man.

"A conviction for pickpocketing." Added Mulder.

It looked like they had struck a nerve, Billy had stopped fiddling with the cards to stare at them. "Man that was performance art. And besides, it's ancient history. What are you saying? You think I killed him?"

"Well, you're on video heckling the deceased." She supposed it was possible he killed him, he certainly made it clear he didn't like the victim.

"What did you have against Mr. Maleeni?" Asked Mulder.

Billy scoffed and started playing with some coins. "First of all, his name's not Maleeni. That's the name of a real magician, a guy at the turn of the century, Max Malini. Ever hear of him?"

They shook their heads. "No." Said Scully.

"That's too bad. You should have. Anyway, he steals his name, spells it a little differently, and does some tired crap that wouldn't cut it at a kid's birthday party." Spat LaBonge.

"What about the trick where he turns his head completely around?" Asked Mulder, drawing a circle with his finger.

"Check it out." Said Billy, rolling down the sleeve of his right arm. He knelt on the ground and placed his hand flat on the floor pointed towards himself. He then proceeded to very slowly turn his hand around. They could hear the cracks and clicks of LaBonge's arm as his elbow dislocated to give him more room to turn. Once he had managed to turn his hand around a full 360 degrees he lifted up his arm and shook it back into place. "No problem." Scully turned to look at Mulder to see if he had been impressed by the magicians trick. "Did you like that?" Asked Billy.

"Yeah." She said turning back to LaBonge. Mulder felt a wave rise up inside himself that made him see red. He hoped Scully hadn't thought LaBonge was impressive because he obviously wasn't. But then, the look in her eyes as she watched made him feel worried. He mentally shook himself for his jealousy, reminding himself that she wouldn't fall for his fast talking crap.

Billy was enjoying his captivated audience. "Watch." He said going back to the coins. He held one coin in his right hand running it over the backs of his knuckles. "Coin in the hand." He said transferring it to his left hand. "Blows away." He said opening his left hand to show them the coin was gone. They didn't look impressed. "Maybe it's a little hard for you to see." He picked up another coin and ran his hand over it. "Let me make that bigger for you." Now the coin was the size of a tea saucer.

"Those are great, but I don't see how they're any different or better than the ones Maleeni did." Said Mulder flatly. Scully looked up surprised at the amount of animosity in her partner's voice, she couldn't work out why the young magician irritated him so much.

"Mozart and Salieri. They sound pretty much the same to a layman. But they ain't. You know what I'm saying?" The Agents just stared at the man. "It's about originality." Said LaBonge, he was moving coins from one side of the table to the other as he spoke. "Style. And more than anything else, soul. Because that's what separates the great ones, from the hacks. We can't do this halfway. We're dealing with powerful forces at work here. Energies far beyond our mere mortal understanding." He spoke to them like he was performing a show, with unnecessary flourishes and large gestures.

"Enough to make a magician lose his head?" Asked Mulder, a wry smile playing over his lips

"Could be. That and I hear Maleeni racked up some pretty big gambling debts. Who knows who he might have pissed off?"

Finally, LaBonge had given them something useful. Maleeni had debts, he wouldn't be the first guy to be made an example of what happens when you don't pay what you owe. "Well, thank you Mr. LaBonge. We'll, uh, be in touch." Said Scully, though Mulder sincerely hoped they wouldn't.

"Please do." Replied Billy, as they started to walk away. "Oh and agents." He called back, stopping them. He uncrossed his hands and showed them what he was holding. It was their FBI badges, he opened them to prove they were real. Both Mulder and Scully reached into their coat pockets to confirm that he had indeed taken them, before reaching out and grabbing them back off the thieving magician.

They walked away, Mulder trailing behind. He caught up and said into her ear. "Mozart and Salieri, which ones which?" The heat of his words on her skin sent a shiver down her spine.

She mentally chided herself at the reaction and put her mind back on the job. "Mulder, I think that professional jealousy is as good a motive for murder as any."

"If it was a murder. I'm not convinced." He replied.

She checked her watch, it was after nine. "If I can get Mr. Maleeni into an autopsy bay, hopefully, we can put this issue to rest as soon as possible."

As they walked outside she pulled her phone out of her pocket and dialled the number for the county morgue.

"L.A County Morgue, Sarah speaking."

"Oh yes, Sarah, its Agent Scully from-"

"The FBI, yes I remember. We have a bay free for you now but the coroner won't be available till after lunch."

"That's fine, I'm a medical doctor. I can perform the autopsy myself. I'll head down now." Said Scully.

"Okay, sure. We'll get him ready and in the bay for you."

"Thanks." After she hung up, Scully turned to Mulder. "They're getting him prepped now."

They had stopped next to the rental car and Mulder stood thinking. "Okay, you go do the autopsy and I will see what I can track down about Maleeni's gambling debts. Did you want to go for lunch after?"

"Sure, will you drop me off?"


	45. Misdirection 5

April 7, 2000, 11:40 AM

Mulder slammed the car door behind himself and stalked his way up the stairs to the county morgue. To say he was frustrated was an understatement. He had just spent the last two hours going over every single financial record for the Amazing Maleeni, AKA Herman Pinchbeck, he could get his hands on. There was nothing. Not a trace! The man didn't earn enough in a year to file taxes and most of his income was in untraceable cash. There were no transactions between him and his family members and nothing in his apartment to say where the debt was from. It was just another conundrum, this whole case was. He hoped Scully had fared better with the autopsy.

It didn't take him long to find her after he entered the building. All he needed to do was ask the small brunette woman behind the counter and he was directed to room one. Scully didn't look up from the body when he entered. She was leaning over the magician's torso brows furrowed in concentration. He walked over to the side of the room to find a good vantage point so he could watch her as she worked. He was always amazed at the care and detail she put into her autopsies, she was truly respectful to the victims. Every time he glimpsed her warm and tender side he couldn't help but smile. He was so lucky to be able to work close to her every day. "How's it going?" he asked.

She sighed and moved up to the detached head, covered the body with a sheet. "Alright, I'm stumped." She said raising her eyebrows while taking off her gloves and glasses in surrender. "And I think I'm supposed to be."

"What do you think?" he asked moving forward to stand next to her.

"Well, first of all, and sorry to disappoint you, but, uh, Mr. Maleeni's head didn't just magically fall off. It was very carefully sawed. Very slow and exacting work, probably with a fine tooth meat saw. And check out this little detail." She said running her finger along the base of the head. There was a sticky claggy substance along the edge. She pulled at it and it stretched out like rubber. "Spirit gum, Mulder. It held the head to the body, just barely of course."

"So, he was murdered?" Asked Mulder. That at least would make sense, who glues a man's head onto its body?

"Well no, as far as I can tell this man died from an advanced coronary disease." She replied.

"Natural causes." He confirmed.

"Yeah."

He smiled. "So basically, he died of a heart attack, somebody crept up behind him, sawed his head off and then glued it back on, all in the space of thirty seconds." He laughed at the ridiculousness of it. "Does that make sense to you?"

She was trying hard to keep the smile off her face. This was serious, she told herself. "No, which makes it even stranger still, because as far as I can tell, this body has been dead for over a month. I see signs of refrigeration."

"And yet he performed yesterday. What a trooper."

"Well, somebody performed yesterday." She said.

Just then there was a knock at the door. A young woman with large brown eyes and messy brown hair poked through the door. "Agent Scully? The coroner is here now if you wanted him to take a look at the body."

Scully turned towards the small woman. "Thanks, Sarah, but we're done here. If the coroner wants to check my findings, he can."

The woman nodded and walked away leaving Mulder and Scully in the room alone. "So, lunch?" he asked, hoping they would think clearer on a full stomach.

She gathered up her things and they walked across the road to the 24-hour dinner she had spied on the way in. It was right at lunch time and the dinner was relatively busy. They saw an empty booth towards the back and quickly claimed the space.

They sat contemplating the case after the waitress had taken their order, Scully nursing her hot coffee. There wasn't enough coffee in the world to make this case make sense, she thought. "So, where do we go from here?"

"Well, I've been thinking about our dead guy's brother." He replied.

"He has a brother?" Asked Scully, her eyebrows lifting in surprise.

"Yeah, a twin brother."

"That's interesting. Does the brother do magic too?" She asked.

"I think we should find out." Replied Mulder.

Just then the waitress arrived with their food. "Caesar salad, dressing on the side?" She asked and Scully reached out to take the plate. "So this must be yours then, the bacon stacker special?"

"Mmm, yes." Replied Mulder.

"Alright Hun, call me if you need anything." Said the waitress as she walked away.

Mulder rubbed his hands together with a smile and reached out to pick up his obnoxiously large burger. He almost had it to his mouth when he noticed the look of disbelief his partner was giving him. "What?" He asked.

She shook her head. "No, nothing. I just can't believe you're actually eating that thing. It's huge!" It looked like it could give you a heart attack in one bite, with its two mince patties and greasy bacon. She screwed up her face in distaste, just looking at it made her sick. "Does it even have any vegetables on it?"

Just to spite her he took a large mouthful of the burger, making sure the grease covered his chin. He mumbled something undetermined as he tried to chew. She raised her eyebrows at him and picked up her fork, placing an appropriate amount of food in her mouth. He swallowed and tried again. "It's better than the bird food you eat all the time, I mean come on, Scully, you could use a little fat in your diet."

"I'm going to try and take that as a compliment." She replied tersely. She knew what he meant, but it was fun to watch him sweat sometimes when he thought he had upset her. "If you keep eating like that, you'll never catch anyone again. Although at least if you get fat I won't have to worry about you doing something stupid like jumping onto a moving train."

"I won't get fat. When I need to lift some weights while on a case I'll just lift you. After all, how much do you weigh? 20 pounds." He teased and then ducked away from her hand as she playfully swatted at him.

She smiled up at him and let him eat the rest of his lunch without comment. After lunch, the duo set out to the local police station to pull up records on the Pinchbeck brothers. There wasn't much to find. Albert Pinchbeck was an upstanding citizen, he didn't even have any parking fines. "Well, this is a bust." He said.

"I still think we should interview him, I mean if Mr. Maleeni was impersonated yesterday, it would make sense the brother did it." Said Scully.

"Yeah, but what I don't get is why? Why go to the effort? What's the motivation?"

"Well, there's only one way to find out." She said handing him the phone.

He dialled the number to the bank that Albert worked at and waited for an answer. "Cradock Marine Bank, how may I direct your enquiry?"

"Ah, yes I was hoping to speak to a Mr. Albert Pinchbeck please."

"Sorry, Albert's not here right now can I take a message?"

Mulder frowned, "When will he be back?" He asked.

"Not until tomorrow, poor man. Sorry."

He sighed. "It's just, I've been trying to get a hold of him for a few days now, my wife even stopped in to see him yesterday morning and he was out then too." He flicked a glance over to Scully as he said the word wife. But she was stoically ignoring him.

"Yeah, it's really unfortunate. But Albert is such a trooper, he has assured us that he will be back at work tomorrow."

"So he was out yesterday? I just want to make sure my wife actually went in like she told me. She has a tendency to get distracted easily." He was smiling now as he watched his partner try and hide her scowl. She knew he was making fun of her, but she couldn't help feeling a lead weight in her stomach. She hoped her face didn't betray her.

"Yes, all morning. Although I don't remember anyone coming in to ask for him. Would you like me to schedule an appointment for tomorrow?"

"No, no that's fine. We'll come in once I get the little woman moving. Thank you for your time." Replied Mulder.

As soon as he hung up he felt a sharp jab in his ribs. He turned to look and saw that she had poked him hard with her finger. "What?" He asked laughing.

"You know what." She replied, shaking her head at him and a blush forming on her chest. She turned and started walking towards the car.

"I was just trying to establish if the brother had an alibi." He said taking large strides to catch up to her. "He doesn't by the way."

"Well then, good." Came the reply. Why did that phone call bother her so much, she wondered. She wasn't letting this new relationship between them distract her, was she? Had he noticed that? Her heart sank with that last thought. Implying she was his wife? What was he supposed to say? _Hi, I'm a cop and I'm looking for a suspect?_ Of course not, but did he have to joke about things like that? Things that would never happen?

"So, we're going to see him tomorrow?" She asked him, changing the subject, and pushing those thoughts to the back of her mind.

"Yeah, bright and early in the morning." It was sunny outside so he reached into his pocket and pulled out his sunglasses to cut the glare. "So it looks like we have the afternoon off, what do you want to do?"

She shrugged, trying to think about what they should be doing. She could start writing up their expense report, or check in with the coroner to confirm her findings from the morning.

He could see the cogs ticking over in her brain and knew if he didn't suggest something soon they would end up at the hotel doing paperwork. "Let's do something fun." He said on a whim. Maybe it was the Californian sun, or he was still on a high from last night's date. Either way, he felt reckless.

She glanced out the side of her narrowed eyes. "Fun Mulder? We're on a case."

"And we will still be on it tomorrow when we have new leads. Come on Scully! We're in Hollywood! Don't you want to go see the sights? I could take you to see Marlon Brando's star or we could go see that Chinese theatre. How about I take your picture in front of the Hollywood sign?"

She wrinkled her nose, she didn't want to be a tourist. "I don't know Mulder, we really should get this paperwork started." It wasn't like him to shirk off a case for fun. Especially one as strange as this. She wondered what had come over him.

He sighed, he just wanted to do something to take her mind off everything, especially after what had happened with Pfaster. He didn't think she had had the nightmare last night, or if she had, she hadn't woken him up with it. "Alright Scully, let's go back to the hotel." He mumbled and opened the door to the car.

On the drive, he nervously fingered the steering wheel while she pretended to be interested in the shop fronts that blurred past her window. He glanced at her, trying to think of something to say, something to break the uncomfortable silence. But he couldn't find the right words. He felt so strange. In many ways they were closer now than ever before. But it also felt like a huge distance had formed between them. They used to be able to communicate with each other by just looking at their eyes. But now, every time he looked he saw confusion. If he could only figure out what she wants, he could be that for her.

They arrived at the hotel and exited the car. "I'm going to call the coroner to confirm my autopsy results, did you want to start on your report?" she asked him.

"Sure." He replied and headed into his room.

She watched him go and mentally kicked herself, he had a look on his face like a wounded puppy. Go talk to him Dana, she told herself, but made no move towards him. Two seconds later he was in his room and the door was closed, opportunity lost.

She walked into her own room and sat down on the bed with a heavy sigh. What was wrong with her? Why did she keep pushing him away every time they got close? She knew it was a defensive mechanism, but she couldn't help thinking that the moment she gave in to this feeling the rug would be ripped out from under her. Was that stupid? After all, she had given in on so many other levels. She knew she would follow him wherever he goes, but should she?

Just then there was a knock on the door. She stood up and walked over to open it. Standing outside was Mulder, dressed in his running clothes and smiling. "Hey Scully, I'm too wired to write my report right now. Do you want to come running with me?"

She thought about it for a moment, but realised that even if she said no, she wasn't going to be able to concentrate on her work either. "Let me get changed?" she asked and closed the door. She stripped off her work clothes and walked over to her suitcase hoping that she had packed something appropriate to work out in. Thankfully she had a pair of leggings and some running shoes. Unfortunately she hadn't packed any tee shirts. She sighed and threw on her bathrobe and walked over to open the door. He was still standing on the other side waiting for her. His beaming smile faltered as he took in her dismayed expression and down turned face. "I can't go."

"Why not?" he asked her, glancing at her small toes peeking out under the robe.

She went pink. "I didn't pack a shirt to wear, and I don't really want to go running in a dress shirt."

He laughed picturing it. "Hold on." He said and headed back to his room. A minute later he was back with a grey Knicks tee in his hand. "Here you go."

She took it with a wary look on her face, his shirts were more like dresses on her. But she closed the door and tried it on. It did come down to her thighs, but the leggings were tight and she felt more comfortable now that her ass was covered. She opened the door. "Ready."

They took off together, though he had to watch his pace quite a lot. Not that she was by any means slow. But she still took two steps to his one, it was maddening. He turned to face her, still jogging backwards. "Hey Scully, I think this is the first time you have actually taken me up on coming for a run."

"You're right Mulder, I think it is." She said with a smile. She wondered why she had always declined, probably because she thought she would hold him back. But they seemed to find an easy rhythm that made it fun.

They jogged together in silence for a while, enjoying the Californian sun on their skin, until they came to a tall building that was advertising rock climbing. They had stopped out front for a rest when Mulder looked over to her. "What do you say?" he asked pointing to the sign.

"Rock climbing? Really?" she replied with a sigh. She had done it before, of course. It was part of training at Quantico, but she hadn't enjoyed it. With her small stature, she was the brunt of many a joke at the training facilities.

"Come on, it'll be fun." Said Mulder with a smile.

She rolled her eyes. Well, she had been stepping out of her comfort zone already today, why not? "Alright, but one height joke and we're out of there." She warned.


	46. Misdirection 6

**So this next scene was a challenge that my sister set me. I took the opportunity to add her and her husbands likeness into the chapter. Please review and comment on them I would be delighted to show them.**

 **xo Angelsong**

April 7, 2000, 5:23 PM

They were standing by a 30ft high wall covered with colored grips shaped like rocks and ledges, trying to put on their safety harnesses. Because they were new to the gym they had to wait for an instructor to go over the safety rules. Mulder's eyes bulged when a small, dark haired woman walked over to them. "Hi, I'm Mariah and I'll be your instructor today. Have either of you done any rock climbing before?"

They were both too stunned by the girl to answer. She was even shorter than Scully and looked to be in her late teens, hardly someone you expected to be an instructor. "It's okay if you haven't, it's really easy once you get the hang of it." Said the girl.

Scully finally recovered from her surprise to speak. "Excuse me, uh, how old are you?"

The girl smiled. "I'm twenty-four, but I know I look younger. Trust me, I know what I'm talking about. For example, sir, you're putting your harness on wrong." She said, walking over to Mulder. He had twisted one of the straps around the leg harness. She quickly and unabashedly reached out and unclipped him, straightened the strap and buckled him back in, pulling the harness tight. "It was also too loose. You don't want to fall out when you're twenty feet in the air."

He had gone very red and threw a darting glance at Scully. Perhaps this was a bad idea, he thought. He didn't get time to question himself any further as the girl was speaking again.

"Okay, so what's going to happen is, before you even think about starting to climb the wall, you are going to clip yourself into the safety line." She said walking over to a section of the wall with a rope hanging down. "Now this is important: Once you clip yourself on, you're going to tighten the lock on the clip. Do not climb if you haven't done this." She stopped and looked around. "Do you need spotters?"

They looked at each other and shrugged. "We can spot for each other." Said Mulder.

Mariah shook her head. "Look, you might be able to spot the little lady, but it's not a good idea for her to spot you. How 'bout I get one of the other instructors over here to spot for you and I'll spot for the Mrs., okay?"

"Oh, we're not married." Said Scully quickly. Mulder glanced over at her. She seemed extra sensitive about that today, he thought to himself.

Mariah didn't appear to have heard her anyway as she was busy calling over one of the male instructors.

"Honey, can you spot the gentleman here, please, while he climbs?" Mariah asked the taller, older gentleman with salt and pepper hair who had jogged up to stand next to the smaller woman.

"Sure thing. Hey, I'm Hayden."

"Okay, so I'm going to get Hayden to spot me while I show you how to choose your grips. This is probably going to matter more to you." She said nodding at Scully. "Don't let anyone tell you that you can't climb if you're short. It's all about picking the right places to put your hands and feet. The grips are color coded by levels of difficulty with green being the easiest and pink the hardest. But don't worry too much about that, just pick what feels comfortable and go with it."

She started climbing and they watched with amazement as this tiny woman snaked her way to the top with ease. "Now when you get to the top." Said Hayden. "You need to lean back, like Mariah is doing now, and basically, sit in your harness. It's our job as spotters to lower you down. So just hold on to the rope and walk your way down, got it?"

They nodded. "Alright then." Said Mariah when she was safely on the ground. "Let's get you two climbing."

Scully took a calming breath as she walked up and clipped herself in with unsteady hands. It had been almost ten years since she had done this and she wasn't expecting to remember how to do any of it. She glanced over to Mulder and he flashed her a cocky smile. Of course, he was good at this. I hope I don't make too much of a fool out of myself she thought. She reached up to grab her first grip and, after deciding where to put her foot, she was on the wall. It was a lot harder than she remembered, trying to hold on to the wall and pull herself up. She glanced over at him to see how he was going. He was further up than she was, but he looked to be struggling a little too. She smiled and kept going. They were almost halfway up when he shouted out to her. "Hey, Scully! I told you this would be fun!"

"Sure Mulder, I'm having a blast." She called back to him flatly. He was somewhat stuck because of course he had chosen the pink path, and the next grip was out of his reach. He took a leap of faith and thought he was going to make it. But his fingers only brushed the grip and slipped. She watched as he seemed to hang there for a second before dropping down.

"Mulder!" she called as he fell, but he didn't go far since the spotter had caught him before he fell more than a foot. He swung into the wall and his head hit a grip with a resounding crack. He blinked up at her with a dazed look in his eyes and made no attempt to grab onto the wall.

"I'm coming down." She shouted down to Mariah and waited for the rope to tighten before she sat back. She reached the ground before Mulder and was busy trying to unclip herself as he reached the bottom.

He was standing, so it couldn't have been that bad, but you couldn't be too careful, she thought as she walked over to check his head. She ran her fingers through his hair trying to feel if he had a lump. There was a red mark just near his hairline but it didn't seem raised. She checked his eyes just in case. Mariah and Hayden were right next to her. "You took a big hit there, big fella. Are you okay?" Asked Mariah.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He replied enjoying the feeling of Scully's hands in his hair.

"I think that's enough fun for one day, don't you think?" She asked with a smile.

"But Scully, we didn't even make it to the top." He half-heartedly argued.

"Next time, okay?" She replied.

They thanked the instructors and took off their harnesses.

"If you come back again, I'll give you half price." Said Hayden as he walked them out. "I'm sorry man, I should have been paying closer attention."

Mulder nodded, but he couldn't see them trying this again anytime soon.

When they got out on the street Scully turned to him and laughed. "You went down like a sack of potatoes."

"I was just out of practice." He grumbled and they started walking back to the hotel.

They stopped on the way to pick up Chinese food for dinner. When they got back they headed to Mulder's room to eat. "Did you have fun at least?" He asked her.

"I did, thank you, but now it's time to do some work." She said finishing off her Mushu pork. "I'm going to take a shower and start on my report, I'll see you in the morning."

"Night Scully." He said as she reached the door.

"Night Mulder." She replied.

0000

Mulder rolled over and checked the clock, it was after three in the morning and he still couldn't sleep. He told himself the bed was too lumpy and the sheets were scratchy, but he knew what he was missing. She was sleeping less than six feet away from him, in another room. He missed the warmth of her in the bed, and the way she would press her feet against his legs when she was cold. If he closed his eyes he could almost remember the smell of her skin, the scent of vanilla, apples, and the slightest hint of sweat.

He sighed and grabbed the remote to the TV, turning it on and muting the sound. Of course, at this time of night, the only thing that was on was infomercials, and he never had to worry about male pattern baldness. But at least it was mindless enough for him to shut off his brain. He had just settled himself into the sheets to wait out the dawn when he heard a quiet moan coming from behind the adjoining room door. The nightmare must have started. He lay there, debating whether he should try to wake her up or let it play out. He didn't want to overstep the boundaries that she had carefully laid since being in her room uninvited had been a sore spot before.

"Mulder, No!" She cried out loudly. He was up in a flash deciding that he'd rather face her wrath than hear her in pain. He moved quickly to the adjoining double door, opening his side and knocking on hers. "Scully!" he called out, trying to wake her.

He heard her scream. "No! No, I won't hurt him. Mulder! Help!" He clasped the doorknob and to his surprise, it turned easily in his hand. She must have unlocked it, he thought as he stepped into the dark room. He could see her tangled up in the sheets, thrashing. He quickly moved over to sit on the bed and take her into his arms. She was clammy with a thin coating of sweat covering her brow.

"Shhh, Scully, it's alright. I'm here, you're safe." He said into her ear.

Her eyes flew open, she pulled in a huge breath and coughed. He patted her back with one hand while he hugged her with the other. "Mulder?" She asked quietly.

"Yeah, I'm here, it was just a dream." He said softly.

She looked up at him, with a quivering chin and tears brimming in her deep blue eyes. "I killed you." She whimpered before the tears started to fall.

"What are you talking about, I'm fine. It was just a bad dream."

She looked so fragile in that moment his heart was breaking. "I'm sorry." She whispered.

He reached over to flick on the lamp and then turned to capture her face in his hands. "Hey, you don't need to be sorry. Tell me about your dream?"

She shook her head. "It's awful, you don't want to hear it."

"I do, I want to know what's upsetting you." He said holding her eyes with his. "Let's get you a glass of water and then you can tell me all about it."

She nodded and he got off the bed to remove a water bottle from the mini fridge by the desk. When he came back to the bed she moved forward so that he could sit behind her and hold her in his arms.

He handed her the bottle. She took a sip and then a deep breath. "It always starts the same, I'm in a room surrounded by candles and I can hear him there with me." She let a small shudder across her back before continuing. "I manage to get out of the room and away, but then I'm trapped in total darkness. That's when he starts to talk to me."

He didn't need her to tell him who she was referring to. Donnie Pfaster was still haunting her. "What does he say?"

"He tells me that, I'm his now, and that I can't get away. He tells me that we're the same." She murmured.

"What do you do then?" he asked.

"I run, as fast as I can but I can't see anything until-" She stops talking abruptly.

"Until?" he asked softly rubbing her arms.

"Until I find my way back into the room with the candles, but I'm not alone in there anymore. You're lying on the bed. I hug you, and then I shoot you. You die, I, I kill you. And then he tells me that we are the same again. That's when I wake up."

He lets out a long breath, no wonder she has been so strange with him lately. He couldn't imagine what it would be like to have to watch her die by his hand every night. "You know that you're nothing like him, don't you?" she turns her head down and starts to fiddle with the comforter. "Scully, you are the kindest, sweetest human being on the planet and you would never hurt me or anyone else."

"I hurt him, I killed him." She said softly.

"Yes, but you had to. It was such a difficult choice for you to make. Your body made it for you unconsciously. It changes nothing. God, Scully! You are the only person in this world I trust with my life. I…." He stopped himself before he went any further; now was not the time to tell her how he felt. This was about her, not him.

"Can you just stay with me for a while? Just until I fall back to sleep? I, I just don't want to be alone right now."

"Always." He replied.


	47. Misdirection 7

April 8, 2000, 8:45 AM

They both felt weary, as if their whole bodies were heavy. They dragged themselves into the bank, thinking that it had been a long morning. Mulder had shielded his scratchy eyes behind sunglasses for the drive, while Scully had listlessly sipped her coffee. He had managed to catch a couple of hours of sleep, with her curled up in his arms, and they were both glad when they woke up together. Still, it had been slow going as they prepared themselves for their meeting with the magician's brother, They both hoped that he would finally shine a light on this strange case.

They entered the bank together, looking around for their man, but he was nowhere in sight.

"Excuse me." Said Mulder to a dark woman with a name tag on. "I'm looking for Mr. Albert Pinchbeck."

"He's the gentleman right over there." She said, pointing to an office in the far right corner of the bank. "The poor man." She said before walking away.

Mulder wondered what she meant by that, but Scully was already walking towards the office, so he didn't have time to ask. As they approached, they could see a man through the blinds. A man who looked identical to their dead magician; a man wearing a brace around his neck. "He look familiar to you Scully?" He asked.

"He certainly does." She replied, shaking her head. It was almost uncanny. She no longer had any doubts in her mind; this was the man that performed at the magic show two days ago.

"The plot thickens." He joked. He was happy they were finally going to get some answers.

"He might try and run." She said wisely and they steeled themselves to the idea of giving chase.

Scully knocked on the door. "Come in." Called Mr. Pinchbeck and they opened the door. "Good morning Mr. and Mrs.-"

"Agents." He corrected quickly, pulling out his badge to show the man. "Mulder and Scully, FBI." Scully grabbed out hers to show the man as well.

"You're not here for a home loan, I take it." Said Pinchbeck.

Mulder smiled and sat down in one of the chairs opposite the man; Scully took the other. "No, we are investigating the death of a magician who called himself the Amazing Maleeni." She said dryly.

"Herman Pinchbeck, my twin brother." Said the man; he didn't seem too upset or surprised.

"Yes, we know. We checked his next of kin." Said Scully.

"What happened to your neck, Mr. Pinchbeck?" Asked Mulder.

"I was in a car accident." Replied the man matter-of-factly.

"Car accident." He repeated. "So your injured neck has nothing to do with a magic trick you performed at the Santa Monica Pier two days ago? One which involved you turning your head around 360 degrees?"

"No, that wasn't me. I was in a bad car accident in Mexico."

"Oh! A bad Mexican car accident! In Mexico" Quipped Mulder. He couldn't believe it! This was going to be easy because the man obviously couldn't lie to save himself.

"Do you know magic, Mr. Pinchbeck?" Asked Scully.

"Yes, I do. Back in the 70s my brother and I performed together." He replied.

"Why did you stop?" Mulder enquired.

"You never really stop." Said Pinchbeck, reaching into his desk to remove a packet of cards. He pulled out the deck and spread the cards open in his hands, holding it out to Mulder.

"Pick a card, any card?" Mulder joked before leaning in to pull out the king of diamonds. He showed the card to Scully then put it back in the deck.

Pinchbeck then shuffled the cards before cutting it, letting the stack cascade into his hand. As they fell away, the king of diamonds was revealed as the last remaining card. He placed it at the front of his desk to show the agents.

"Hmm, very impressive." Said Mulder, with a hint of sarcasm.

"My brother and I both wanted to do the absolute best magic the world had ever seen. The difference was I knew we'd never get there, but he always believed we would. We didn't talk much after I quit the act."

"I have a theory, Mr. Pinchbeck, and I'm going to tell you how it goes." Said Mulder, staring at the man to watch his reactions. "I think that your brother Herman died of heart disease, having never made it as the world's greatest magician, and I think that hurt you. Just as your estrangement from him hurt you. And I think what you did for him was perform his last act for him; one last act for which he'd always be remembered; one last act that would end with such a shock, such a dénouement, as would be forever remembered in the annals of magic." Said Mulder. The agent stared down the man, daring him to prove him wrong. "That's what I think."

"I so wish that were true." Said Pinchbeck and pushed himself back from the desk. He reached down to his sides and wheeled himself back far enough for the agents to see that he was in a wheelchair, and his legs were cut off at the knees. "It was a very bad car accident in Mexico."

"Thank you for your time, Mr. Pinchbeck. We'll be in touch." Said Scully hurriedly.

"Please do, I truly want to know who was responsible for my brother's final act." Said the man flatly.

The agents excused themselves and left, closing the door behind them. When they were a safe distance away Mulder turned to Scully. "Oy." He said.

"No kidding." She replied and they both laughed at the ridiculousness of it all. "What now?"

"Guy's head falls off, it's the greatest trick in the world. Only there's no discernible point to it. What's the reason for doing that in the first place?" he mused.

"Well, why do people do magic? To, uh, impress, to delight, to gain attention."

"Well, this one's gained mostly police attention." He said and then it occurred to him. "Maybe that's the point."

"Well, maybe we should consult an expert. Someone who knows magic, who's seen the greatest trick in the world. Maybe he can help us figure that out." She said with a smirk forming on her face.

"Mozart." Whispered Mulder.

"Yeah." She replied.

As they walked out to the car Mulder pulled out his cell phone and called up the local PD. "Hey, yeah. Can you get a couple uniforms together to go and find us Billy LaBonge and bring him down to the impound lot? We need him to answer a few questions."

0000

They arrived at the lot before LaBonge, but they were assured he was on route, and he didn't seem too happy about it either.

"So why the impound lot Mulder?" She asked him.

"It's the only thing we haven't looked into yet. I mean, we know our mystery man didn't leave any fingerprints, but there is still probably a bucket load of information in the back of this van if we know how to read it right."

Scully nodded. It was a long shot, but they didn't have anything else to go on.

LaBonge arrived flanked by two LAPD officers. "Hey, what's this about? Why did you set the goons on me?"

"Mr. LaBonge, glad you could make it. We have a proposition for you." She said walking up to him.

"Thank you, officers. We'll take it from here." Said Mulder, sending the officers away. "Hi, Billy. We want your help with this case. We figured you could provide us some insight into Maleeni's life."

"What's in it for me?" Asked Billy. "I mean, let's say I help you out, what do I get in return?"

"The feeling of pride that comes from performing your civic duty." Replied Scully, but LaBonge didn't seem impressed.

"How about the chance to root through the professional secrets of your least favorite magician?" Supplemented Mulder.

Billy shrugged. "Good for a laugh, I guess."

Mulder smiled at the man and headed over to the van, which was covered by a blue tarpaulin. Scully followed behind as he pulled the tarp off, exposing the back doors of the van. She and Mulder each grabbed a door and pulled it open for LaBonge to see inside. The young man reached in and pulled out an open suitcase full of strange paraphernalia and placed it on the floor. "Man, it's worse than I thought." The magician said, grabbing a top hat off of a shelf. Then he pulled a heavy cloth from the bottom of it and out flew two white doves. While the agents were looking at the birds, LaBonge placed the top hat on Scully's head. "You got to feed those things, you know."

She let it rest there for a moment, glancing over at Mulder to see what he thought of her in the silly hat, but his attention was back on LaBonge and the van. She realized what was probably sitting inside the hat, because of the birds, so she quickly removed it and checked. Damn it, she thought, upon finding that there was indeed a thin layer of bird excrement in the bottom. She hoped it hadn't gotten in her hair.

"So, Maleeni wasn't murdered?" Asked LaBonge.

"It would seem not." She replied, dropping the hat to the floor.

"So someone impersonated him, and his crappy act. It's impressive." Said Billy appreciatively, rifling through the truck. Now he pulled out an old antique revolver and pulled the trigger. Out popped a piece of wood with a tiny flag on it that read BANG. "I'd say the twin brother did it, but I don't think he's any better a magician than Maleeni was."

"There's that, and he's got no legs." Replied Mulder wryly.

Scully looked away to keep the smile off her face. She could tell that he was getting irritated with the small man. LaBonge was always talking, but he seemed to never actually say anything.

"Yeah, whatever." Replied Billy. "Anyway, we're looking for a magician with the same height and build. A good makeup job and the right wig, and no one would know the difference."

"Not even you, I guess." Scully retorted.

"I had a couple Jell-O Shots in me." He admitted.

"How did this impersonator switch out the dead body?" Asked Mulder, trying to bring the magician back to task.

"With ease. You're gonna kick yourselves when I show you how he did this. It's so simple. Because magic is all about…." He brought up his hand and wiggled his fingers. "Misdirection."

Mulder turned to Scully and mockingly repeated the gesture. She gave him a look to let him know she wasn't impressed.

"Your impersonator simply made sure everyone was looking the other way, when he pulled Maleeni's body from its secret hiding place, underneath the floor." Said Billy, reaching down to pull one of the tiles that covered up the base of the van, exposing the metal floor underneath. He stood still for a moment with a look of disbelief and started pulling at the other tiles. Nothing. No hidden compartment, no secret trap door; there was nothing underneath, but the van's metal floor. "Man, this guy's good!"

The agents felt their spirits drop. Another dead end. Just like that, they were back to square one, with nothing to show for it. None of this made any sense to either of them. Why go to the effort of making a man appear murdered and then not leave any evidence? Mulder looked down and saw a scrap of paper poking out from under the suitcase LaBonge had put down earlier, then leaned down to pick it up.

"Thanks for your expert opinion." Said Scully. "I guess we're right back where we started."

Mulder was reading the paper. "Maybe not. You said that the Amazing Maleeni had some gambling debts?"

"Yeah, that's what I heard." Replied Billy.

"Check this out." He said handling the paper to Scully. "Looks like a marker, $20,000 Pinchbeck."

She took it from him to study. Marker's were a record of money owed, so it was odd to find on the borrower instead of the loaner. "What would this be doing in Maleeni's van?" she asked.

"Let's see if we can find out." He replied before turning to Billy. "Thank you, Mr. LaBonge, I'm sure we can muddle our way through this now. You've been a big help."

"That's it? I can go?" Said Billy.

"Yes, thank you." Replied Scully before signaling an officer over to escort him out.

"Check this for fingerprints." Said Mulder, handling the man the paper before turning back to Scully. "So, it's a waiting game again, I guess."

"Guess so. What do you want to do now?" She asked with a smile.


	48. Misdirection 8

April 8, 2000, 8:45 PM

"Royal flush." Said Scully with a gleeful grin.

Mulder laid out his cards with his head bowed in defeat. "You win again." He said exasperatedly.

She was annihilating him. She couldn't tell if she was reading him well or he was just letting her win, but either way she was having fun.

Scully smiled and reached across the small table to collect her winnings: a pile of Cheetos. "I think I bankrupted you. Did you want to keep playing? I could write you a marker?" she joked.

"Oh, God no! Who knows what trouble I could get myself into." His hand darted across the table to snatch a chip before she could react. He was glad she was having fun. This entire case was so confusing and it was taking so long, but at least they were getting plenty of down time together.

She was just about to reply when she heard her cell phone ring. "Hold that thought, and stop stealing my winnings." She teased before getting up and collecting her phone from her coat. "Scully." She answered.

"Dana, Hi."

Scully turned to Mulder holding her hand over the speaker. "It's Ellen." She whispered. He nodded and waved her off before heading towards the adjoining door. He knew that Ellen was her best friend and figured whatever they wanted to discuss warranted privacy.

"Hey, Ellie, what's up?" She asked after he left.

"Nothing much. I just haven't heard from you since your birthday so I figured I would give you a call. So, what are you up to?"

Scully sighed. "I'm on a case actually, a very frustrating one. I can't figure it out at all."

"Hmm, can I help?" Asked Ellen.

"Not likely, plus you know I can't talk about active cases."

"Well, where are you anyway? Are you still in D.C?"

"No, I'm in L.A actually." Replied Scully.

"Ooh, that's fun! Is Mulder with you?" She asked snickering.

Scully rolled her eyes. "Yes, Mulder's here too. So what's new with you?" She asked, trying to deflect the conversation back to Ellen.

"Oh, nothing much. Sadie broke her arm a few weeks ago, but she's doing fine now."

"What? How?" Asked Scully concerned.

"Oh, you know… kids. One of her friends dared her to climb onto the banister and she fell. She's lucky that a broken arm is all she got. As for the friends, they won't be sleeping over at our house anytime soon." Replied Ellen warily.

"Sounds like she's being a handful." She agreed.

"Trust me Dana, when you have kids, you'll understand. I just hope you have boys. They're so much easier. Give them a video game and you'll never have to see them."

Scully felt a pang in her chest at the mention of her having kids, but she pushed it aside. "I don't think that's going to be a problem for me, my life is not exactly conducive to children." She said diplomatically.

"Well, it's only been a couple of months for you two, but you never know… you're not getting any younger, you know."

"Thanks, Ellen. You always know just what to say to a girl." She quipped.

"I'm sorry, I'm just glad to see you happy is all. It's about time. You are still together, aren't you? I haven't put my foot into it big time, have I?"

"No, we're still…. Whatever we are…."

"Dany, are you having second thoughts? Or has he done something stupid?" Asked Ellen, concern playing in her voice.

"No, no, Mulder's…. well… wonderful really." She trailed off.

"So what's the problem?"

Damn her perceptiveness, she thought. Even over the phone, on the other side of the country, she still couldn't hide from her best friend. She suddenly wished she had let the phone go to voicemail. "There is no problem… I don't know. I'm just being silly."

"Dana, talk to me! Come on, I know you better than anyone. I can tell when you're not being truthful."

She sighed. "I just can't help feeling like I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop. Right now he is making me feel so special, but I know that, at the end of the day, I will never be his number one priority; he's a workaholic. So am I for that matter. It's working right now, and I'm happy right now. But every time I think about the future…. It's just blank, I don't see where we go from here."

"Hmm, I get it. Well, has he given you any indication that he's serious about you?"

She thought about that seriously. He had been making an effort to include her more in his activities outside of work lately. Not just for physical reasons either. It didn't feel like it was just about sex anymore, but he still hadn't confirmed any emotional attachment yet. "I don't know; I think we had our first real date the other day. But maybe I'm just reading into it too deeply."

Ellen chuckled. "I have never met two people who need to DTR more than you two."

"DTR?" She asked.

"Define the relationship," Ellen explained.

Scully laughed. It would be easier to prove the existence of extra-terrestrials than to have an actual conversation about relationships with Mulder. "I don't think that's going to happen anytime soon. But anyway, enough about me and my sad love life. How's Tom?"

"He got a new secretary." Replied Ellen. "She's blonde and leggy, with enormous boobs. Tom doesn't seem to understand why I have a problem with her."

She rolled her eyes and sat down in the bed. When Ellen got onto a rant about her husband, Scully knew they were going to be talking for a while.

0000

Mulder could hear Scully's laughter echoing through the wall. He had the TV on and was fighting the urge to press his ear to the door to hear what she was talking about. He'd never had a best friend like Ellen. The closest he got would probably be the Gunmen, and they weren't much company. He couldn't remember anyone but her making him laugh like that before. Sure he had buddies back in college, but that was back in England. He was sure they never even thought about him now.

He wondered what it would be like if he actually had friends. Would it have made losing Sam easier? At least he might have had somewhere to go when his Dad drank too much and the screaming started. Despite everything Scully had lost, he took comfort in knowing that she would always have family and friends to fall back on. It was a hard line for him to balance on; by having no one else, he relied hard on her to guide him. But he also had to give her the space she needed.

Before Scully, he had been used to being alone. Neither Phoebe nor Diana had ever filled that void. But when he was with Scully, it was like that void never existed. He had to be so careful not to abuse the care she took of him. It was strange, he had felt it from their very first case, that connection. He had finally felt like the answers were in reach. But seven years later they were no closer to the truth and she had lost so much. He was selfish, even now. Especially now. He should have told her to go years ago, at the very least after her abduction. But he didn't. He couldn't. His own selfish needs overwhelmed him; she was the rope that tethered him to reality, and he was dependent on her. That was why he would wait for her.

He shook his head angrily at the stupidity of it all, he had tied himself to an angel, and when he finally destroyed her, it would only be his fault.


	49. Misdirection 9

**Hi all, just wanted to say a huge thank you to my wonderful Beta Debbyrizzo for helping me make my story great. Sorry faithful readers for the down time between chapters, life is just crazy busy right now. I will try to get them to you as soon as I can. As always please review, your comments are the highlight of my day.**

 **xo Angelsong**

April 8, 2000, 10:35 PM

He heard her knock on his door and quickly got up to open it. She was dressed in her pajamas, her hair still damp from the shower. "Hi, how was Ellen?" He asked, smiling.

She looked up at him biting her lower lip nervously. "Good… Sadie broke her arm." She commented, not knowing what else to say.

"Sadie?"

"Her daughter." She explained.

They stood in the doorway facing each other. He stared into her eyes, which seemed trained to a spot on the wall behind his head. When it became clear to him that he would have to break the quiet, he asked. "Did you want to play some more cards?" He reached up to scratch the back of his neck.

Her fingers plucked nervously at the cross on her neck as she shook her head. Her eyes focused on his chest, which was still pink from his hot shower. Breathing deep, she caught the scent of his body wash and it helped her build courage. "I was wondering, well, it's fine if you don't want to, but I was hoping…." She trailed off.

He noticed a slight blush rising up from her neck to her cheeks, fingers still playing with the cross. "What is it Scully?" He whispered.

She looked down, hoping he wouldn't notice her red face. "I was wondering if I could sleep in here with you tonight, just because of the dreams." She didn't know what possessed her to ask him; she felt so stupid. But he had been so comforting this morning, and she was so tired. She just wanted to feel safe for the night.

He felt the tightening in his chest release, though he wouldn't admit the fear he had felt at her nervous behavior. Opening the door wider, he stepped back to admit her into the room. She smiled gratefully and walked over to the bed, pulling back the unrumpled left side of the covers and sliding herself underneath.

She felt the bed sink under his weight as he slipped in beside her. A moment later his arms were around her waist. "You know, you don't have to ask. You're always welcome here, for any reason." He murmured huskily in her ear.

She reached out and turned off the lamp before snuggling back into his arms. Feeling his warm embrace, she could finally let go of her worries. She let a sigh escape her lips at the thought of a good night's sleep. "Good night, Mulder."

"Night, Scully."

0000

 _He was on a beach. He could smell the salt in the air and hear the waves curling upon the shore. A cool breeze whipped through his white tee, but the sun was warm on his back. He let his bare feet dig into the sand, enjoying the grainy texture as they scrubbed against his soles. To his right, he saw a boy who looked familiar, like someone he had seen before a thousand dreams ago. The boy was playing in the sand near the water, building something, but he was too far away to see what. Silently he approached the boy. As he got close, he saw that this was not the boy he remembered. He was similar, but this boy had blue eyes and the faintest hint of strawberry in his hair. "What are you doing?" He asked. The boy didn't reply and just continued to dig in the sand. "Does your mother know where you are?" He tried._

 _The boy looked up, his steel blue eyes were shocking to the man like they were reading his very soul. Mulder took a step back. These eyes were so strange, and yet, they reminded him of eyes he had looked into every day. Wordlessly the boy pointed behind him, further up the beach. Turning to look where the boy was directing, he saw her._

 _She was dressed in a white sundress, its hem scraped the sand as she stood. Her hair was longer than he remembered, cascading down her back. The way the sunlight caught the red locks made it look like she had a halo. She smiled at him and held out her arms, beckoning him to her. He looked back at the boy, but he was safe enough by the water._

 _It seemed to take years for him to walk across the beach to her, with every step he took she seemed further away than before. But finally, just when his steps started to labor, she was there. He reached out and took her hand in his, and she pressed her other hand to his face. She was different than he knew her, lighter as if the weight of the world had left her and she was free._

 _She smiled up at him. "Are you happy, Fox?" she asked him._

 _"Happy?" he replied, looking back at the boy._

 _"Is this enough for you?"_

 _He thought for a moment, realizing what she was asking him. Could he give up his search for the truth for her? For the promise of a family? "Yeah, this is enough." He said softly as she folded herself into him. They turned to watch the boy…. Their son…. As he played amongst the sand, and he smiled._

 _0000_

Mulder opened his eyes and breathed in heavily. It was still dark out and he wasn't sure what time it was. But he didn't want to roll over to check the clock, because it would dislodge Scully from where she was sleeping, curled up in his arms. He thought about the dream, and about her. If he could wish for anything in the world, a simple life with Scully is all he could ever want. He pressed his face into her neck breathing in the scent of her shampoo. Even in her sleep she seemed to sense his need and pulled him closer. He could just make out the outline of her face in the dim hotel lighting. Sleeping Scully seemed younger somehow, more innocent, more like the woman in his dream. He felt a weight in his chest and his eyes shone with tears when he remembered the woman on the beach. That was who she was supposed to be, not this, not afraid to dream because of men like Pfaster.

He softly kissed her neck as he made a silent vow to himself and her. He vowed that he would not let anything like Pfaster or her abduction ever happen again. He would find a way to make that beach a reality as best as he could. His eyes felt heavy and he let them slip closed, hoping that sleep would take him back to that place again. Back to her, and to their future.


	50. Misdirection 10

**As always I would like to thank my amazing Beta Debbyrizzo for helping me with this ongoing saga. her tireless efforts help to make this story great. I hope you are all enjoying my story, which is by no means done any time soon haha. please coment and review to help me make it better.**

 **OX Angelsong**

April 9, 2000, 7:00 AM

The loud jarring sound of the alarm clock made Mulder sit up excited. Hopefully, they would have fingerprints from that marker that they could chase down. He reached over and turned off the alarm, pausing to look at his partner's resting face. If only he could wake up to her every day. She looked peaceful and he knew the nightmare had not bothered her again. He silently slipped out of the covers, hoping to give her a few more minutes of sleep, and threw on his pants. After he grabbed the phone from the desk, where he had left it the night before, he used the adjoining doors to head into her room to make his call.

"LAPD, how can I help you?"

"Ah, yes, Agent Mulder from the FBI. I was hoping you had the results of the fingerprint analysis I sent through yesterday."

"One moment, please." Replied the voice. "I'm transferring you to the crime lab, please hold."

He waited for the call to be picked up and then explained what he was looking for.

"Oh yes, Agent Mulder, your prints came in last night. I'm sorry, did you not get a phone call?" Said the man from the crime lab.

"No I didn't, otherwise, I wouldn't be calling." Snapped Mulder.

"Well, there was only one set of prints on it. We remembered your last print was from an ex-con, so on a hunch, we ran it through the California Criminal History Database and got a hit straight away. Cissy Alvarez, he's a known criminal, been out of prison for about eighteen months now."

Mulder nodded writing down the information. "What was he in prison for?"

"Theft mostly. A couple of bank jobs as well as grand larceny. He's got a history of violence too. I tell you, if you have a chance to put Alvarez back behind bars, I welcome it. Vice has been looking into him since he got out, but he's been good at keeping his hands clean."

"Well, we'll see where this take us. Thank you." He replied, hanging up. He sighed and went back to wake Scully up.

0000

An hour and a half later they were headed down to North Hollywood Billiards Hall, the pool hall that Alvarez used as a base of operations. They had already stopped to pick up the evidence from the police station, the marker they were sure was Alvarez's. "So, what do you think, Scully?" He asked, glancing over at her in the passenger seat.

"I don't know, Mulder. It doesn't seem likely that Alvarez would kill him for that marker. I mean, the debt wasn't that old, and you can't make money off a dead man." She replied.

He nodded. "What's interesting to me is that Pinchbeck's brother didn't mention any debts the other day when we visited. I mean, he has a good job, probably has savings. Why wouldn't Maleeni have asked him for a loan?"

"Pride, maybe." She postured. "Albert did say they weren't talking. Maybe Maleeni was trying to fix it on his own."

"Yeah, but you said it, Scully, you can't make money off a dead man. Surely Alvarez has stopped in to see the brother and try and squeeze him for money, after all, these people pride themselves in knowing how to find and exploit others weaknesses."

She shook her head. "So, what do you think happened, Mulder?"

He tapped on the steering wheel thoughtfully. "I don't know yet, but something isn't adding up."

He pulled the car into park out front of the pool hall and they got out. Mulder unconsciously kept Scully behind him as they entered. The man they were looking for was towards the back, lining up a shot on the table. He was covered in tattoos that ran from the back of his hand's all the way up to his neck. The agents headed down to the man and Mulder dropped the evidence bag, carrying the marker on the pool table before Alvarez could take the shot.

"That's your handwriting, is it not?" Scully asked the man, who looked up and shot her a look of disgust. She coolly stared him down. "Mr. Alvarez, please answer the question." She didn't need to remind him that he was still on parole and was obligated to answer any questions put to him by law enforcement.

"That ain't mine. I don't know where you got that." he spat.

"Interesting. Yours are the only fingerprints on it." said Mulder, a smug smile crossing his lips.

"We ran it through the California criminal history database, to which you seem to be quite well known." Supplied Scully.

"So it's my marker. So Pinchbeck owed me money, it was a friendly game of poker."

"Very friendly." Agreed Mulder. "$20,000 friendly."

"Where did you find that?" asked Alvarez.

"In Herman Pinchbeck's van. Where were you last Thursday?" She asked.

"Here. All day. Ask them." He replied, gesturing to his friends at the other table. Scully turned to see the burly men as they tried to stare down the agents menacingly. It made her smile. They had seen far worse than a couple of wannabe gangsters in their day. "What is it you think I did to Pinchbeck, huh? What's in it for me? If I kill him, he ain't gonna pay me."

Scully smiled, that's exactly what they thought already. "Why did you play him in the first place? You knew he was a professional magician." Asked Mulder.

"I didn't know what he was. And he sure as hell couldn't play worth a damn."

"Don't leave town, Mr. Alvarez." Said Scully, turning to leave.

Mulder stepped back to let her pass and then reached out for the evidence bag, making sure to collect a pool ball as he picked it up. At the very least he could mess up the ex-con's game. He caught up to Scully as they left the building. "Don't you find it odd that the Amazing Maleeni is a lousy poker player? I mean, this is a guy who's adept at manipulating cards."

"Maybe he wasn't so adept." She countered. "LaBonge certainly didn't have a high opinion of his skills." She said, stopping to face him.

He clapped his hands together. "There is another possibility." He said and reached into his pocket. "Behold." He announced, holding out a coin in his right hand. "An ordinary household quarter. I'm going to take the quarter from my right hand and place it in my left hand." He moved his hands together so the quarter wasn't visible and then held up his fists. "Where is it?"

She smiled up at him. "It's in your right hand." She guessed, reaching out to tap his hand.

His fist sprang open to reveal his empty palm. "Oh, no,no,no." He said, wiggling his fingers. She reached out and opened his left hand. It was also empty. "Ah." He smiled.

"That's not bad." She replied happily.

"Yeah, blow your nose, Scully." He said, pinching her nose with the fingers of his right hand.

"Mulder." She warned, trying to pull away from him.

"Blow your nose. Come on, blow." He replied, redoubling his efforts.

She rolled her eyes and said. "Ah-choo."

Out dropped the quarter from his hand. "Ta da!" He exclaimed.,

"Amazing." She replied in a slightly patronizing voice.

"Look at that, The Great Muldeeni!" He said holding his hand up to show her the coin.

"And what's the point?" She asked.

"It's misdirection. It's the heart of magic. Just like LaBonge said, I made you look in one direction while the quarter went in the other." He replied.

"And that's what you think is happening in this case?"

"I think we are being led around by our noses." He surmised.

"By whom? Maleeni's already dead."

"Certainly would appear so, but then again, you thought the quarter was in the right hand." He said and got into the car.

She followed behind him. "So what, you think he's alive? But then who did I do the autopsy on, Mulder?"

"I think we should pay the grieving brother another visit, don't you?" He asked as they drove away.


End file.
